Big hikes in food prices contributed to a 7% increase in annual consumer inflation in February from 6.9% in January – the first increase in four months.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.7% between January and February, the biggest monthly increase since July 2022, Statistics SA reported on Wednesday.
In February, food and non-alcoholic beverages annual inflation hit 13.6% – the highest level since April 2009.
The price of maize meal increased by almost 35% over the past year, with a sharp rise of 2.2% between January and February alone. Statistics SA reports that rusk prices jumped almost 7% in a single month, while macaroni (+4.4%) and savoury biscuits (+4%) also saw big monthly hikes.
There were large monthly increases in the prices of baby milk formula (+7.
