Johannesburg – Headline inflation – the Consumer Price
Index – has moderated to 5.3 percent.
This is a decline from the 6.1 percent recorded by
Statistics South Africa in March.
On Wednesday, the official stats agency said the rate was
0.8 percentage points lower than the March figure.
South African consumers have been battling rising food
and energy prices. Inflation has been staying outside the 3-6 percent target
band set by the South African Reserve Bank.
The bank is due to announce whether it will raise
interest rates on Thursday. The prime lending rate is currently 10.25 percent.
Consensus is that, as the inflation figure is moderating,
the bank will hold rates steady, although it is too early for it to start
decreasing the cost of borrowing.
Stats SA notes, on average, prices increased by 0.1 percent
between March 2017 and April 2017.
Read also: How South Africans are dealing with inflation
Several items, such as food and beverages and transport,
were less costly in April than in March, Stats SA’s research shows.
Food inflation has been a bug bear for consumers with
retailers doing their best to keep prices down following last year’s prolonged
drought, the worst in recorded history.
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