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StatsSA has released new data highlighting the changes in the prices of essential goods that appear in the basket of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The organization said it is temporarily publishing inflation data weekly, albeit for a smaller range of goods.
Their data shows that the prices of essential products increased on average by 0.3% between the week ending April 2 (the first week of closing) and the week ending April 16 (the third week of closing).
In the second week of closing, essential item prices rose 0.5% week-to-week, followed by a 0.2% decrease week-to-week in the third week.
Food and non-alcoholic beverage (NAB) prices, which comprise almost 90% of the index, increased 0.4% over the two weeks.
This is equivalent to the average monthly change in the IPC Food and NAB index in the last six months to March 2020, Stats SA said.
Some of the notable increases and decreases between April 2 and 16 include:
- Milk, eggs, and cheese increased 2.9%. This was mainly caused by a 19% increase in egg prices;
- Hot drinks increased 2.7%. Increases of 2.8% for instant coffee and 7.2% for black tea pushed the rate of hot beverages higher. In comparison, Rooibos tea prices fell 4.8% over the three-week period;
- Oils and fats increased 2.3%;
- Average increases of 7.2% for minced meat and decreases of between 1.2% and 4.1% for chicken products resulted in an aggregate increase of 0.7% for meat products;
- The bread and cereals index increased by a cumulative 0.3%, with the prices of white and whole wheat bread increasing by 1.9% and 1.8% respectively;
- The prices of fruits and vegetables, which are usually very volatile, decreased by 9.6% and 2.9%, respectively.
- The miscellaneous products index, which includes personal care products, fell mainly due to large reductions in the rates of shampoo (-7.2%), bath soap (-4.6%) and fabrics (-2, 5%).
- Household detergent prices increased 1.5%, primarily as a result of an average 4.4% increase in the price of dishwashing liquid.
Read: Mboweni announces a second wave of tax measures to help South Africans: everything you need to know
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