SA inflation rises to 4% as fuel price surge drives sharp April increase

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Cape Town – South Africa’s annual consumer inflation rate climbed sharply to 4% in April from 3.1% in March, driven largely by steep fuel price increases.

This was revealed by Statistics South Africa on Wednesday.

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading marks the highest inflation level recorded since August 2024, when headline inflation stood at 4.4%. On a monthly basis, inflation rose by 1.1% in April.

Fuel prices delivered the biggest blow to consumers, with the fuel index surging by 18.2% between March and April — the steepest monthly increase since the current CPI series began in 2008.

Petrol prices increased by 15.2%, while diesel prices skyrocketed by 35.4%.

The inland price of 93-octane petrol jumped from R20.19 per litre in March to R23.25 in April, marking the fifth-largest increase for the grade in the past 50 years and the biggest increase this century.

Diesel users were hit even harder, with the average price per litre rising from R21.28 to R28.80 in a single month.

The impact of higher fuel costs also filtered through to transport, with the passenger transport services index rising by 3.1% month-on-month — the sharpest increase since July 2022.

Air travel costs continued to soar after a 14.3% rise in March, with airfares climbing by a further 24.5% in April. This was the biggest monthly increase in airline ticket prices since March 2008.

Despite the fuel-driven inflation spike, food inflation continued to ease.

Annual inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages slowed for a third consecutive month, declining from 3.6% in March to 2.9% in April.

Meat prices recorded some of the largest declines, with meat inflation easing from 11.6% to 9.4%. Inflation for beef mince slowed from 22.2% to 15.3%, while stewing beef dropped sharply from 22.6% to 8.7%.

The cereal products category remained in deflation for a third straight month, with products such as white rice, maize meal, porridge and bread flour costing less than they did a year ago.

Meanwhile, medical aid and insurance costs continued to rise. The insurance index increased by 1.3% month-on-month, largely due to higher health insurance premiums.

Medical aid contributions rose by 1.8% in April, pushing annual medical aid inflation to 8.3% as several schemes implemented new premium increases.

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu

Article written by