South Africa Inflation Rises Marginally To 7.1%

(RTTNews) - South Africa's consumer price inflation rose unexpectedly in March, though marginally, figures from Statistics South Africa showed on Wednesday.

The consumer price index, or CPI, rose 7.1 percent year-on-year in March, just above the 7.0 percent increase in February. Meanwhile, economists had expected inflation to ease to 6.9 percent.

Moreover, the inflation rate continues to be higher than the 3 to 6 percent target range set by the South African Reserve Bank.

The core inflation, which excludes prices of non-alcoholic beverages, fuels and energy, came in at 5.2 percent in March, unchanged from February. The expected rate was 5.1 percent.

Prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages alone grew 14.0 percent annually in March, and transport charges rose 8.9 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices moved up 1.0 percent versus an expected increase of 0.9 percent. Core consumer prices also gained 0.8 percent.