Inflation fell to 5.9% in September to within the Reserve Bank's target band for the first time in seven months, releasing pressure on the bank to raise interest rates.
Inflation slowed from 6.4% in August, the Consumer Price Index, released by Statistics SA yesterday, shows.
The median estimate of 27 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 6.1%.
The bank kept interest rates unchanged at 5.75% last month even as a weakening rand threatened to keep inflation above its 3%-6% range.
The economy is forecast to expand at the slowest pace this year since the 2009 recession after strikes forced mines and factories to temporarily halt operations. An 8% drop in Brent crude prices last month helped contain inflation.
"The oil price decrease, our largest import product, has caused this slight deflation," Francois Stofberg, an economist at Efficient Group said. "This is a good sign that the Reserve Bank might not increase rates, but that is also dependent on the economic data that will come from the US and China."
The core inflation rate, which excludes food, non-alcoholic beverages, petrol and electricity costs, fell to 5.6% in September from 5.8% in the previous month.
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