South Africa’s inflation increased for the second consecutive month in April, although at a slightly slower-than-expected pace, to mark a four-month high, figures from Statistics South Africa showed Wednesday.
The consumer price index climbed 5 percent year-over-year in April, faster than March’s 4 percent increase. Economists had expected a 4.6 percent rise for the month. It was the highest inflation figure since December’s 5.3 percent.
Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 5 percent. Clothing and footwear prices advanced 5.5 percent and costs for housing and utilities climbed 5.6 percent.
At the same time, transport costs declined at a slower pace of 1.1 percent yearly in April.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.9 percent in April, slower than economists’ expectations of 1 percent gain.
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