2020.01.2210:25:00UTC+00South Africa Inflation Highest In 3 Months

South Africa's consumer price inflation rose to the highest level in three months in December, figures from Statistics South Africa showed on Wednesday.

The consumer price index rose 4.0 percent year-on-year in December, following a 3.6 percent increase in November. This was in line with economists' expectation.

The inflation was the highest since September, when it was 4.1 percent.

The main contributors to inflation were food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing and utilities, transport, and miscellaneous goods and services.

Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 3.9 percent annually in December and those of housing and utilities, and transport increased by 4.6 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.

The prices of miscellaneous goods and services rose by 5.4 percent.

The core inflation, which excludes prices of non-alcoholic beverages, fuels and energy was 3.8 percent in December.

The CPI rose 0.3 percent from the previous month.

On a monthly basis, the core CPI edged up 0.2 percent in December.

The average inflation for 2019 was 4.1 percent, which was slower than the 4.7 percent in 2018.