By Zuko Komisa

- Annual inflation slowed from 5.0% in June to 4.3% in July.
- Primary drivers were housing, transport, and insurance costs.
- Month-on-month CPI growth dropped to 0.2% from June’s 0.7%.
South Africa’s consumer price inflation cooled noticeably in July. Housing, transport, and insurance emerged as the primary upward drivers of price levels throughout the period.
This cooling trend comes as a welcome reprieve for South African households facing sustained cost-of-living pressures over recent years.
The South African Reserve Bank targets an inflation band of 3% to 6%, with a preference for keeping price growth near the 4.5% midpoint. Dropping below this target midpoint gives the central bank greater scope to consider easing monetary policy and potentially lowering borrowing costs.
#SAInflation || Annual consumer price inflation declined to 4,3% in July from 5,0% in June.
— Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) (@StatsSA) August 19, 2026
Listen here for more: https://t.co/khuzOAdHIK #StatsSA #KnowYourStatsZA #CPI #GovZAUpdates @GovernmentZA pic.twitter.com/hq4eTvhyQT
Commenting on the shift, Statistics South Africa highlighted the specific forces easing pressure on household budgets:
“The slowdown can be attributed to softer inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages, lower municipal tariff increases and a decline in fuel prices.”
The annual rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages dropped to 0.9% in July.
This marks the lowest figure for the category in more than 16 years matching levels not seen since June 2010, when South Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup.
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