The prices of bread and cereals were 19.9% higher in November than a year ago, reported Estadísticas SA.
Photo by Neetu Laddha on Unsplash
Consumer price inflation cooled slightly in November to 7.4%, from 7.6% in October.
Source: SA Statistics
But food prices continue to rise, reaching 12.5% in November from 12.0% in October. Bread and cereal prices were 19.9% higher in November than a year ago, according to Statistics SA.
Statistics SA reported that the average price of a 2.5kg bag of maize flour was R34.08 in November, down from less than R25.60 a year ago. In November last year, the average price of a white loaf was around R15.68, which increased to R18.68 in November.
Overall, meat price inflation was 10.5% in November, unchanged from the previous month. But the price of bacon rose 6.4% in a single month.
Source: SA Statistics
For the year to November, prices for milk, eggs and cheese products rose 10.9%, from 10.5% in October.
Whole milk rose 2.4% from October to November, while coffee whitener prices rose 4.6%.
Source: SA Statistics
But oil and fat prices fell for the third straight month, cooling to 24.8% from 25.7% in October. The average price of a 750ml bottle of sunflower oil was R38.12 in November, up from a high of R45.33 in July, Statistics SA reported.
The prices of transport (+15.3%), as well as of hotels and restaurants (+7.9%) were much higher than those of the previous year.
SA Statistics also reported large monthly changes in the prices of electronics, including laptops (+1.6%), cell phones (+1.7%) and digital cameras (5.3%). However, television prices fell by 1.5%.
In general, the monthly variation of the consumer price index (CPI) was 0.3% in November, slightly lower than the 0.4% registered in October. Annual inflation hit a 13-year high of 7.8% in July.
The SA Reserve Bank only expects inflation to “sustainably” return to its target level of 4.5% by the second quarter of 2024.
