Year-on-year consumer price inflation excluding mortgage rates (CPIX) slowed down to 12,4% last month from 12,7% in November, Statistics SA reported on Tuesday.
It said the annual rate of increases in food prices fell to 16,1% last month from the corresponding rate of 18,4% in November. Other contributing factors were annual rises in the cost of housing (excluding mortgage rates), transport, medical care and health expenses.
The December data brought the average annual CPIX for the whole of last year to 10%, compared with 6,6% in 2001.
CPIX is used by the SA Reserve Bank to determine its inflation target, which has been set at between three and six percent for this year.
Stats SA said headline inflation (the consumer price index (CPI) for historical metropolitan areas) stood at 14,4% last month — down from 14,5% in November.
Food prices were again a major contributor, as were annual increases in the cost of housing, transport, medical care and health expenses.
The average headline inflation rate for the whole of last year came to 10,1% — the highest since 1992 when the figure was 13,7%.
In 2001, headline inflation averaged 5,7%. The average annual flood inflation rate jumped to 15,7% for the whole of last year from 5,4% in 2001, Stats SA said
in a statement in Pretoria. – Sapa