Soaring food, fuel prices 'not good news' - economist
The cost of living has gone up 5.7%, according to the
Consumer Price Inflation Index for January.
Stats SA released the CPI index on Wednesday, which dipped after a five-year high since 2017. Food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 5.7% in January from 5.5% in December.
This while transport, housing and utilities were also named as the main contributors to the annual inflation print. The price of cooking oil continues to climb, with the average price of a 750ml bottle increasing to R31 from R24 last year.
Economist Dawie Roodt says the soaring fuel and food prices are not good news for the average South African whose wages are not increasing at the same rate.
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"Especially for the low-income categories and I think they need to do something to prevent inflation from getting out of hand.
"The only alternative and realistic one is for the Reserve Bank to increase the interest rate to keep a lid on inflation. Although an increase in interest rate will be painful, high inflation is far more damaging."
