South Africa’s annual inflation rate reached another 13-year high, increasing to 7.8% in July 2022 from 7.4% in June 2022 according the South Africa Department of Statistics (Stats SA).
The increase was on the back of rising costs across key sectors of transport, food and non-alcoholic beverages (NAB), and housing and utilities. Bread & cereals, oils & fats, fuel and electricity all made a notable impact on this month’s reading.
Oils & fats continue to register the highest annual rate of increase among food products, accelerating by 36.2% in July 2022 compared to July 2021.
The government body provided the chart below showcasing inflation behaviour over the last 13 years where we can see the current rate is only lower than figures from 2009.
The consumer price index (CPI), the primary measurement of the cost of living, jumped by 1.5% between June 2022 and July 2022 – the 4th time since 2008 that the monthly increase was 1.5% or higher.
“Consumers are feeling the pinch, particularly for non-durable goods – those items bought most frequently, such as food, drink, electricity, fuels, and medicine.
Annual inflation for non-durable goods is in double-digit territory, at 14,4%. This is much higher than the rates recorded for durable goods (4,8%) and services (4,2%).”
– Stats SA
The annual rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages increased to 9.7% in July 2022, up from 8.6% in June 2022.
In this sector, authorities determined that bread & cereals inflation continues to quicken, with the annual rate rising to 13.7% from 11.2% in June. Month over month, these commodities increased was 2.4% in July.
Commodities recording the highest monthly price increases from the data include:
- Cake flour (6.3%)
- Macaroni (5.0%)
- Maize meal (4.2%)
- White bread (2.8%)
Commodities recording the highest annual price increases include:
- Fuel (56.2%)
- Oils & fats (36.2%)
- Taxi fares (16.4%)
At the same time, the authorities determined that the prices of rice decreased by 3.1%. Oils & fats saw the highest annual rate of increase among food products.
Electricity tariffs increased on average by 7.5%, lower than last year’s rise of 13.8% but higher than the 2020 increase of 6.3%. Transport costs were up by 4.8% between June and July, with fuel rising by 9.4% with fuel found to be ‘56.2% more expensive than it was twelve months ago.’
Taxi fares jumped in July 2022 too, rising by 9.0% from June 2022 and taking the annual rate to 16.4%, the statistics body said.
