Stats SA updates its inflation basket

Source: Reuters/Lelethu Madikane

Patrick Kelly, head of price statistics at Statistics South Africa, said it was difficult to gauge what impact the update would have on upcoming inflation releases given subtle shifts in the weighting of some items.

Consumer inflation currently sits at the bottom of the central bank's target range, which has allowed it to cut interest rates at its last two meetings. Another rate cut is expected this week.

The update involved adding 71 products to the basket, removing 53 and reorganising 29 through merging, splitting or reclassification, the statistics agency said on Tuesday, 28 January 2025.

There are now 391 items in the basket, down from 396 previously.

Housing and utilities, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and transport continue to have the biggest weightings in the basket.

Statistics South Africa's Kelly said the weight of the food and non-alcoholic beverages category had risen while it had fallen for housing and utilities, suggesting the overall impact on headline inflation was likely to be muted.

The changes were informed by the results of a 2022/23 household income and expenditure survey.

The survey showed real average annual household income fell to about R204,000 in 2023 from R206,000 in 2015.

It also highlighted persistent racial disparities more than three decades after apartheid ended, with more than 45% of Black African households spending less than around R25,000 annually, showing they experience the worst financial constraints.