Inflation slows more than expected in January
Falling fuel prices helped inflation slow to 4%, beating the economists’ consensus of 4.3%
January’s R1.22/l drop in petrol and R1.54/l drop in diesel helped inflation slow more than expected. Inflation, as measured by the annual change in the consumer price index (CPI), slowed to 4% in January from 4.5% in December, beating the economists’ consensus that it would slow to about 4.3%.
Inflation was expected to moderate thanks to two months of large fuel price cuts, which took the price of 93 octane petrol in Gauteng from a peak of R16.85/l in October down to R13.79/l in January. In February, the government-set retail price of petrol rose 7c to R13.86/l. According to Stats SA’s CPI report on Wednesday, fuel was 1.2% cheaper in January than the same month in 2018...
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