South Africa's annual inflation rate accelerated to 4.5 percent in May, up from 4 percent in April, pushing consumer price growth close to its highest level in almost 22 months. The acceleration points to renewed pressure on household budgets across the country.
According to Statistics South Africa, consumer prices increased by 0.7 percent month on month in May. Transport, along with housing and utilities, emerged as the biggest contributors to headline inflation during the month.
The latest reading is creeping towards the 4.6 percent recorded in July 2024, which remains the highest annual inflation rate over the past 22 months. The May figure therefore marks one of the strongest increases in consumer prices in nearly two years.
Statistics South Africa said the inflation surge was largely driven by fuel price increases, which continued to ripple through the broader economy and feed into transport costs in particular.
The fuel index recorded its second consecutive large monthly increase, leaping by 14.3 percent, to reach an annual rise of 28.7 percent. The repeated monthly jumps underscore how sharply energy costs have moved over a short period.
Over the past 12 months, prices for petrol increased by 24.8 percent and diesel by 53.8 percent. The combined effect of higher fuel and transport costs explains much of the upward move in the headline inflation rate reported for May.