JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 18 — The Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) in South Africa rose from 4.8 percent in August to 5.4 percent in September, but it still falls within the country’s target range of 3 percent to 6 percent, according to data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Wednesday. The rate now stands at the same level as it was in June of this year. Among the main factors contributing to the rise in inflation were increases in the price of food and fuel. For the second month in a row, the fuel index rose by 7.6 percent between August and September. In September, the cost of inland 95-octane gasoline increased by 1.71 rands (0.09 U.S. dollar), hitting a 13-month high of 24.54 rands. “The transport category, mainly influenced by fuel, exerted strong upward pressure on the monthly inflation rate,” Stats SA said. The annual rate for food and non-alcoholic drinks increased slightly to 8.1 percent in August after cooling for the previous five months. In September, the annual rates for meat, fish, oils and fats, fruit, and non-alcoholic drinks were all higher. According to Stats SA, the cost of poultry goods increased as the nation had been dealing with an avian flu outbreak, driving up the cost of both chicken meat and eggs. Stats SA said it would keep a close eye on the prices of poultry products to “gauge the impact” of the outbreak. Even though South Africa’s inflation rate finally fell inside the South African Reserve Bank’s target range for the first time since June this year, there was still a chance that interest rates would be raised in November. Jannie Rossouw, a professor at Wits University, said this latest CPI increase means “inflation is rebounding; this is a big jump from 4.8 percent.” He said the Reserve Bank would consider current inflation patterns as well as projections for the future, and if inflation remains around 4.5 percent, the Reserve Bank might feel comfortable and potentially cease raising interest rates.
Xinhua
