JOHANNESBURG, May 22 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's consumer inflation slowed for the second consecutive month in April, with the consumer price index down to 5.2 percent from 5.3 percent in March, according to data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Wednesday.
Housing and utilities, miscellaneous goods and services, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and transport were the main drivers behind the headline rate in April, according to Patrick Kelly, chief director for price statistics at Stats SA.
Kelly said that food inflation declined from 5.1 percent in March to 4.7 percent in April, representing the fifth consecutive month of decline, although fruit and vegetable prices remained higher.
"On average, vegetable prices increased by 7.4 percent in the 12 months to April, higher than the six percent increase recorded in March," said Kelly, adding that egg inflation recorded its fifth consecutive month of decline, peaking at 39.9 percent in November 2023 before receding to 25.1 percent in April 2024.
The data also showed that the annual inflation rate for restaurants and hotels increased to 7.5 percent in April from 5.7 percent in March, according to Kelly. ■