By: ThinkBusiness Africa
South Africa’s annual headline consumer inflation eased for the first time in three months, falling to 3.5% in November from 3.6% in October. The data, released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) showed on Wednesday.
The latest figure marks a significant milestone in the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) newly adopted strategy. Following an official shift last month, the central bank now targets a specific point of 3% (with a 1% tolerance band), moving away from its long-standing 3%–6% range.
In August inflation peaked 3.3%; September, and October it accelerated to 3.4% and 3.6% respectively.
The primary driver for the cooling inflation was the transport sector. Annual transport inflation slowed significantly to 0.7% in November, down from 1.5% in October.
Motorists saw relief at the pumps as petrol prices (93 and 95 octane) were cut by 51 cents per litre in early November, supported by a stronger Rand and lower international Brent crude prices.
Price growth for vehicles hit a 12-year low. Most notably, used vehicle prices are now 1.8% cheaper than they were at this time last year, reflecting a cooling secondary market.
Despite the overall cooling, the report highlighted a sharp divergence in food prices. While general inflation eased, food and non-alcoholic beverage (NAB) inflation accelerated to 4.4% from 3.9% in October.
The surge was almost entirely driven by the meat category, which saw annual inflation jump to 12.2%—the highest level since 2018.
Outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease earlier in the year, coupled with rising costs for livestock feed and the impact of dryer-than-expected conditions in key grazing regions have constrained meat production, and supply.
The cooling headline figure, combined with Core Inflation remaining steady at 3.2%, provides the SARB’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) with significant breathing room.
In its November meeting, the SARB lowered the repo rate to 6.75%. Following today’s data, market analysts are increasingly betting on a follow-up 25-basis-point cut when the MPC next meets on January 29, 2026.
