JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s headline consumer inflation unexpectedly slowed in August, falling to 3.3% year-on-year from 3.5% in July, statistics agency data showed on Wednesday.
Economists polled by Reuters had predicted annual inflation would edge up to 3.6%, still comfortably within the central bank’s 3%-6% target range.
Well-contained inflation has allowed the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to cut its main lending rate at three of its four policy meetings this year.
At its last meeting in July the SARB said it would aim for the bottom of its range, 3%, whereas before it had aimed for the middle, 4.5%.
The SARB’s next policy announcement is on Thursday, and most economists anticipate it will keep its repo rate unchanged at 7% as it tries to steer inflation down towards its new 3% anchor.
In month-on-month terms inflation was at -0.1% in August, compared with 0.9% in July.
Annual core inflation, which strips out volatile items like food and energy, came in at 3.1% in August, in line with analysts’ forecasts.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov and Anathi Madubela; Editing by Alexander Winning)
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