JOHANNESBURG, March 18 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's consumer price inflation eased to 3 percent in February, down from 3.5 percent in January, according to data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Wednesday.
Housing and utilities, food and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as insurance and financial services were the main contributors to the annual inflation rate, the data showed.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.4 percent in February, lower than the 0.9 percent increase recorded in the same month last year, indicating softer price pressures.
Patrick Kelly, chief director for price statistics at Stats SA, said the lower inflation rate was mainly driven by delayed medical aid tariff adjustments, falling fuel prices, and slower increases in medical service costs.
"Health insurance has a relatively large weight of 6.2 percent in the inflation basket. The delayed implementation of medical aid increases in February had a notable impact on the headline rate," Kelly said.
Meanwhile, inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages eased to 3.7 percent in February from 4.4 percent in January, marking the first slowdown in four months. On a monthly basis, food prices declined by 0.3 percent.
According to Stats SA, several staple food categories recorded price decreases. Cereal products entered deflation at a negative 0.5 percent year-on-year, while meat inflation slowed to 12.2 percent, with prices declining month-on-month for the first time in nearly a year. Cooking oil prices also edged lower during the month. ■
