South Africa’s annual inflation rate slowed to 4.3% in July 2026, down from a two-year high of 5% in June and below market expectations of 4.5%. This was the first deceleration in inflation in five months, largely reflecting weaker price pressures in food and non-alcoholic beverages (0.9% vs 1.6% in June), housing and utilities (5.2% vs 5.5%), and transport (8.9% vs 12.7%).
By contrast, core inflation—which excludes food, non-alcoholic beverages, fuel, and energy—edged up to 4.2% from 4.1% in June, its highest level since July 2024. On a month-on-month basis, the consumer price index rose 0.2% in July, easing from a 0.7% increase in the previous month.
