20.08.202508:18:10UTC+00South Africa Inflation Rate Quickens in July, as Expected

In July 2025, South Africa's annual inflation rate rose to 3.5%, marking its second successive monthly rise and reaching its highest level in ten months, aligning with analysts' forecasts. Key contributors to the rise in prices included the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector, which saw an increase of 5.7% compared to 5.1% in June; the alcoholic beverages and tobacco sector, which experienced a growth of 4.6% from 4.4%; and the restaurants and hotels sector, which advanced to 3% from 2%. Additionally, transportation costs, particularly in fuel, fell at a slower rate of -1.7% compared to the previous -3.3%, with fuels specifically decreasing by -5.5% after a previous drop of -11.2%. Meanwhile, the core inflation rate, which excludes volatile categories such as food, non-alcoholic beverages, fuel, and energy, rose slightly to 3.0% in July from a more than four-year low of 2.9% in June. On a month-to-month basis, consumer prices increased by 0.9%, representing the highest monthly rise since February, after a modest 0.3% rise in June.