A petrol price increase that was only slighter higher in September and a drop in the price of diesel have enabled South Africa’s transport sector to keep the consumer price index (CPI) in check, the Bureau for Economic Research says in its latest weekly roundup.
As a result, it is expected that when the latest CPI figures are released this coming Wednesday, they will show a modest 0.2% month-on-month (m-o-m) increase.
However, the annual year-on-year (y-o-y) rate compared to August’s figures for 2020 will most likely reflect an acceleration from 4.9% to 5%.
The Bureau added that “the quarterly rental survey will be (the) key focus in the September CPI figure.
“We anticipate the rental components to remain relatively subdued, which helps to explain the view that core CPI will only increase by 0.1% m-o-m.”
The y-o-y rental survey figure though is expected to be 3%.