South Africa’s consumer price inflation edged slightly higher in December, rising to 3.6% from 3.5% in November, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.
Month-on-month inflation stood at 0.2%.
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Despite the uptick, the December figure capped off a remarkable year for inflation, with the average inflation rate for 2025 coming in at just 3.2%.
This marks the lowest annual average inflation rate in 21 years, last seen in 2004, and the lowest since 1969 excluding that period.
Food Inflation Steady, But Meat Prices Surge
Food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation remained unchanged at 4.4% in December, but underlying pressures intensified, particularly in meat prices.
Meat inflation climbed to 12.6% from 12.2% in November, a sharp reversal from -0.4% a year ago, highlighting how rapidly prices have accelerated.
Beef prices remained especially elevated. Beef steak inflation rose to 29.4% in December, up from 28.4% in November.
Other red meat products also recorded notable increases:
- Sausages: 19.4% (from 18.5%)
- Boerewors: 18.2% (from 17.2%)
- Mutton: 15.0% (from 13.7%)
- Pork: 11.5% (from 9.4%)
Cereal inflation edged up to 2.1% from 1.7%, with higher prices recorded for brown bread, white bread and spaghetti.
In contrast, maize meal inflation slowed for a second consecutive month, easing to 9.5% from 9.9%.
Relief in Dairy, Oils and Some Beverages
The milk, dairy and eggs category remained in deflation at -1.1%, driven mainly by falling milk prices.
Fresh full-cream milk declined by 1.5% year-on-year. Cheese prices, however, continued to rise, with cheddar inflation increasing to 9.0%.
Inflation for oils and fats slowed to 4.6%, with sunflower oil at 6.2% and olive oil 8.0% cheaper than a year ago.
Non-alcoholic beverages recorded an annual increase of 4.2%, up from 3.7% in November, with cold beverage inflation accelerating to 2.2%.
Housing, Transport and Other Costs
Rental inflation moderated in the final quarter of the year. Actual rentals increased by 0.8% quarter-on-quarter, down from 1.1% previously. Annual rental inflation stood at 3.7%, with townhouses seeing the strongest growth at 4.6%.
Domestic worker wages increased by 3.8% year-on-year, slightly lower than the 4.1% recorded at the end of 2024.
Fuel prices rose marginally by 0.6% over the year, with diesel up 3.7% and petrol increasing by just 0.1%.
Transport costs showed seasonal volatility. Long-distance bus fares jumped by 38.6% month-on-month in December, reflecting festive-season travel demand. Despite this, fares were still 5.6% cheaper than in December the previous year.
Accommodation prices declined, with hotel rates falling by 5.0%, contributing to a 3.2% drop in accommodation services overall.
Outlook
While inflation remains comfortably within the Reserve Bank’s target range, rising meat prices and volatile global conditions pose risks going into 2026.
However, the historically low average inflation rate for 2025 provides a strong foundation for household relief and policy flexibility in the year ahead.
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