No surprises as October inflation lifts to 3.3%

October inflation rose steadily to a seven-month high of 3.3%, data from Statistics South Africa shows.

Statistics South Africa on Wednesday released the October print, which was in line with economists expectations. 

On a month-on-month basis, inflation rose 0.3% in October, edging up from the 0.2% increase reported in both August and September.

The main contributors to the 3.3% annual inflation rate was food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing and utilities and miscellaneous goods and services. The annual inflation rates for goods was 2.6% and that of services was 3.8%. 

In a note issued ahead of the release, FNB economists expected the 30c/l cut in the petrol price to keep inflaton low. FNB had expected inflation to remain unchanged from September at 3%. "Our expectations are for inflation to remain low for the remainder of the year. Our preliminary forecast points to a 3% average for the quarter. If we are correct, this means average inflation for the year will be 3.2%," the note read.

Investec economist Kamilla Kaplan similarly expected the fuel price cuts to influence inflation levels. Investec forecasted inflation of 3.2%.

The Bureau for Economic Research expected inflatiton to drop slightly to 2.9%.