South Africa's consumer inflation falls in March

According to new data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), consumer inflation fell to 5.3 per cent in March, down from 5.6 per cent in February. This decline was mainly due to a decrease in food inflation.

According to Stats SA, inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages fell to 5.1 per cent in March from 6.1 per cent in February. This decline is a significant departure from the peak of 14.0 per cent in March 2023 and is the lowest annual increase since September 2020.

Patrick Kelly, director of price statistics at Stats SA, said that for some food items, such as bread and cereals, the annual rate of inflation fell. In addition, meat inflation fell in March due to lower beef and lamb prices.

While some products such as sugar, sweets and desserts maintained high annual inflation rates, the prices of items such as bread flour, pasta and meat fell. This is reported by Pretoria News, a partner of TV BRICS.

In terms of education, prices rose by 6.3 per cent year-on-year in 2024, with secondary schools experiencing the most significant price increases at 7.3 per cent. The cost of various goods and services also rose, driven by increases in health insurance premiums.