The annual inflation rate in South Africa significantly decreased in July, driven by lower food inflation, smaller increases in municipal tariffs, and falling fuel prices.
According to data published on Wednesday by the Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) agency, South Africa's annual inflation was 4.3% in July, compared to 5.0% in June. This marked the first decrease in the overall inflation rate in five months.
Stats SA specified that the slowdown in inflation was mainly due to falling food prices, a more modest increase in municipal tariffs, and a drop in fuel costs.
Inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages fell to 0.9% in July, the lowest figure in over 16 years. Stats SA noted that this was the lowest level since June 2010, when it stood at 0.7%, during the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The statistics agency explained the decline in food inflation in July as being linked to the prices of cereals and meat. Cereal prices decreased by 2.0% year-on-year, which is better than the 1.5% decrease recorded in June.
Furthermore, some goods showed a monthly price decrease: pasta dropped by 0.7%, and white bread by 0.6%, while semolina prices fell by 3.1%.
Stats SA reported a sharp slowdown in meat inflation, which was 1.5% in July compared to 5.1% in June. Unprocessed beef products showed negative year-on-year price changes: stewing beef fell by 7.9%, beef steaks by 6.1%, and ground beef by 5.8%.
However, some processed meat types saw price increases, including ham (+11.8%), meatballs (+7.8%), Russian sausages (+7.7%), and sausages (+6.2%).
In July, food and non-alcoholic beverage categories that registered higher annual inflation growth included fruits and nuts, fish and seafood, vegetables, oils and fats, soft drinks, as well as milk, other dairy products, and eggs. For example, inflation for oils and fats rose from 2.3% in June to 2.8% in July.
Municipal tariffs also stabilized in July: electricity tariffs increased by 8.1%, which is lower than the 10.4% recorded in 2025.
Annual transport inflation slowed to 8.9% in July compared to 12.7% in June, primarily due to lower fuel prices. Petrol prices fell by 7.1%, and diesel prices by 11.7% between June and July, bringing the annual fuel indicator down to 20.6% from 34.3% in June. Nevertheless, despite the monthly decrease, petrol remains 19.3% more expensive, and diesel remains 28.8% more expensive than a year ago.