Stats SA announced on Wednesday that CPI increased in December compared with November, but that that pegs the average annual inflation for 2025 at 3.2%, the lowest since 2004.
Stats SA’s statistical release on consumer price inflation came out on Wednesday morning, a week before the South African Reserve Bank’s first monetary policy committee meeting to determine the repo rate for 2026.
“Annual consumer price inflation was 3.6% in December 2025, up from 3.5% in November 2025. The CPI increased by 0.2% month on month in December 2025,” Stats SA’s statistical release on inflation said.
According to the release, the main contributors to the 3.6% annual inflation rate were housing and utilities, which were at 4.9% and contributed 1.2 percentage points to CPI, and food and non-alcoholic beverages at 4.4%, contributing 0.8 of a percentage point.
Insurance and financial services were at 7.0% and contributed 0.7 of a percentage point to CPI. In December 2025, the annual inflation rate for goods was 3.0%, up from 2.9% in November 2025, and for services was at 4.2%, up from 4.1% in November 2025, the release said.
Patrick Kelly, chief director for price statistics at Stats SA, said the average inflation rate for 2025 was at 3.2%, making it the lowest average rate since 2004, which was at 1.4%. He said the last period in which the average was this low was in 1969.
However, he acknowledged the pace of price acceleration among the food and non-alcoholic categories, including meat, beef, sausages, mutton, cereal products, brown bread and spaghetti.
“Meat inflation continued its upward trajectory, rising to 12.6% in December from 12.2% in November. In December 2024, the rate was -0.4. This just shows how quickly meat prices accelerated over the year.”
Conversely, he said, inflation for maize meal declined for a second consecutive month to 9.5% in December from 9.9% in November. Cheddar prices rose 9% in the 12 months to December, however.
“The milk, other dairy products, and eggs category remained in deflationary territory at -1.1%, mainly led by cheaper milk products. The annual rate for fresh full cream milk, for example, declined further, to -1.5% from -1.2% in November.”
The Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee is expected to meet next week, after which Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago is expected to make the first repo rate announcement of the year next Thursday.
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