South Africa’s inflation rate has decreased to the lowest level since 2004, Statistics SA has said after releasing its latest market data.
Consumer price inflation ticked higher in December to end the year at 3.6% from 3.5% in November. The change in the consumer price index (CPI) between November and December was 0.2%, the body said.
“The average inflation rate for 2025 was 3.2%. This is the lowest rate in 21 years (since 2004) when it was 1.4%. The next most recent year that average inflation was lower than 3.2% was in 1969 (3.0%), 56 years ago.”
The annual rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages (NAB) was stable at 4.4% in December.
Meat inflation continued its upward trajectory, rising to 12.6% in December from 12.2% in November. The rate was -0.4% in December 2024, which shows how quickly meat inflation has accelerated over the year.
Beef inflation remains at high levels. Beef steak, for example, recorded an annual price change of 28.4% in November, and rose to 29.4% in December. Other notable red meat products that registered higher rates include sausages (from 18.5% in November to 19.4% in December), boerewors (17.2% to 18.2%), mutton (13.7% to 15.0%) and pork (9.4% to 11.5%).
Inflation for cereal products rose from 1.7% in November to 2.1% in December. Several key items experienced faster price increases, including brown bread (accelerating from 0.5% to 1.0%), white bread (1.3% to 1.7%) and spaghetti (1.7% to 3.1%).
Inflation for maize meal declined for a second consecutive month, slowing to 9.5% in December from 9.9% in November.
The milk, other dairy products & eggs category remained in deflationary territory at -1.1%, mainly led by cheaper milk products. The annual rate for fresh full-cream milk, for example, declined further to -1.5% from -1.2% in November. Cheese continues to buck the trend. Cheddar prices rose by 9.0% in the 12 months to December, higher than the 4.9% rise recorded in November.
The annual rate for oil & fats slowed to 4.6%, with sunflower oil softening to 6.2% from November’s 6.6%. Olive oil is 8.0% cheaper than a year ago.
Prices for non-alcoholic beverages rose by 4.2% in the 12 months to December, higher than November’s rate of 3.7%. Inflation for cold beverages recorded a notable rise from 1.4% in November to 2.2% in December.
Results from the quarterly survey of housing rents were published in December. Actual rentals increased by 0.8% in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with the third quarter, down from 1.1% recorded in the previous quarter. The annual change for actual rentals was 3.7% with townhouses increasing by 4.6%, flats by 4.2% and houses by 3.3%.
Domestic workers saw their pay increase by an annual 3.8% in December, lower than the 4.1% rise recorded at the end of 2024.
Fuel prices rose by 0.6% in the 12 months to December. Diesel was up by 3.7% and petrol by 0.1%.
Fares for long-distance buses rose significantly (by 38.6%) between November and December. Sharp monthly increases in December are typical, reflecting a spike in travel during the festive season. Despite this monthly increase, these prices were 5.6% cheaper this December compared with December in the previous year.
Accommodation services recorded a decline of 3.2% between November and December, with hotel prices easing by 5.0%.
