CPI increased by 0.7% in March

The annual consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.7% in March to 3.2%, up from 2.9% in February 2021, according to Statistics SA.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 5.7% year-on-year and contributed 1% to the annual percentage change in inflation, followed by housing and utilities that increased by 2.2% year-on-year and contributed 0.5 of a percentage point.

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Transport increased by 3.8% year-on-year and contributed 0.5 of a percentage point to inflation, while miscellaneous goods and services increased by 4% year-on-year and contributed 0.7 of a percentage point.

Provincial annual inflation rates ranged from 3.1% in Gauteng and Mpumalanga to 3.7% in North West and Limpopo, while it was 3.2% in the Free State and Northern Cape, 3.3% in KwaZulu-Natal, 3.4% in the Western Cape and 3.5% in the Eastern Cape.

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