Consumer inflation has surged for the second consecutive month, reaching 5.6%, according to Stats SA's latest report.
This marks an increase from 5.3% in January. Patrick Kelly from the agency highlighted that housing and utilities played a significant role, growing by 5.8% year-on-year and contributing 1.4 percentage points to the overall increase. Food, non-alcoholic beverages, and transport also contributed to the uptick. Kelly noted that prices for potatoes, eggs, and sweet potatoes saw the most significant increases over the past year.
Eggs, in particular, experienced a 30.7% price hike compared to the previous year, impacting the overall category of milk, eggs, and cheese. Despite a slight decrease from its peak in December 2023, the average price of a tray of six eggs remains higher than in February 2023.
Rice inflation rose to 25.0% in February, up from 23.8% in January, with a 1 kg bag of rice costing R31.83, compared to R23.54 a year ago. Additionally, pizza and pies, grouped with rice in the bread and cereals category, saw a notable price increase of 17.5% over the 12 months leading up to February.
