Annual consumer inflation in South Africa recorded a slight increase in March, rising to 3.1 per cent in February 2026 from 3.0 per cent, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday, April 22.
The increase was mainly driven by higher costs in housing and utilities, food and non-alcoholic beverages and financial services, with prices rising 0.6 percent month-on-month. Six out of 13 expenditure categories, including education, transport and entertainment, recorded growth.
Education remained a major inflationary pressure, with tuition fees rising by 5.4 percent in 2026, led by private education by 7.5 percent. Transportation prices, although still lower than a year ago, appear to be slowing the rate of decline, reflecting the impact of softening fuel prices.
Food inflation continued to moderate and fell to 3.6 per cent in March, with many categories such as dairy, cereals, fruits and vegetables remaining in deflation. The prices of dairy products declined for the tenth consecutive month. Meanwhile, goods inflation slowed slightly to 1.8 percent, while services inflation rose to 4.2 percent, indicating continued pressure in the services sector.