JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's consumer price inflation eased to 4.3 percent in July, down from 5 percent in June, marking its first decline in five months, according to data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Wednesday.
According to Stats SA, inflation stood at 3.5 percent in January before rising to 5 percent as the Middle East conflict continued to disrupt fuel supplies.
The decline was attributed to slower food inflation, lower municipal tariff increases and lower fuel prices. Despite the month-on-month decline in fuel prices, petrol prices remained 19.3 percent higher and diesel prices 28.8 percent higher than in 2025.
Patrick Kelly, chief director of price statistics at Stats SA, said food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation recorded its lowest level in more than 16 years. The annual rate fell to 0.9 percent in July, the lowest since June 2010, when it stood at 0.7 percent.
Transport inflation also slowed to 8.9 percent in July from 12.7 percent in June as fuel prices declined. Petrol and diesel prices fell by 7.1 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively, between June and July, bringing annual fuel inflation down to 20.6 percent from 34 percent in June.
Lower increases in municipal electricity and water tariffs also contributed to the decline in inflation. Electricity tariffs rose by 8.1 percent in 2026, compared with 10.4 percent in 2025, while water tariffs increased by 10.2 percent, compared with 12.1 percent last year. ■