FX.co ★ South Africa Inflation Rate at Near 5-Year Low

In March 2025, South Africa's inflation rate experienced a significant decline, reaching 2.7% compared to 3.2% in February. This figure was also below analysts' predictions of 2.9%, marking the lowest level since June 2020 and falling outside the South African Reserve Bank's target range of 3-6%. The decrease was largely attributed to reduced prices in food and non-alcoholic beverages (2.7% down from 2.8% in February) as well as in restaurants and hotels (4.2% down from 4.6%). Meanwhile, the core inflation rate, which excludes the more volatile categories such as food, non-alcoholic beverages, fuel, and energy, declined to 3.1%. This is the lowest it has been since September 2021 and a decrease from 3.4% in the previous month. On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased by 0.4% in March, a slower pace compared to the 0.9% rise seen the month before.