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IOL News
an hour ago
- Business
- IOL News
Everyday items in South Africa cost R1 808 more than a year ago
Oils and fats prices increased 5.6% year-on-year, while the price of fruits, nuts, and vegetables jumped between 10.3% and 13.5% year-on-year. Despite this positive trend, the compounding nature of inflation means that prices for essential goods continue to rise each month. According to Statistics South Africa's latest inflation report for May 2025, the consumer price index stands at 2.8% year-on-year, a notable improvement from the 5.2% recorded a year prior. The cost of living in South Africa has shown signs of slowing, with an annual decline of 2.4 percentage points; however, average monthly bills have still increased by 2.6% from May of last year, resulting in an additional R21 000 in annual expenses for households. Based on a basket of goods the average South African may be spending their money on each month, and taking compounding into account against the base price, every day items cost R1 808 more than a year ago. This is based on the most recent prices for this year, and doesn't take cost variations into account. Even without historical price data on items such as DSTV Compact Plus not being readily available, the increase amounts to R21 702 over the year. And that's allowing for lower price hikes of one item offsetting the increase in others. It's worse if you smoke or drink – those items on average went up year-on-year by 4.3%. If your weekend party stash of drink cost R1 000 last May, it went up by R43. That, based on advertisements from liquor stores, is worth almost half the cost of a six pack of beer.
IOL News
18 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
Soaring living costs add over R21,000 a year to household bills
Statistics South Africa's latest inflation publication, for the May 2025 period, shows that the consumer price index was 2.8% on a yearly basis last month. This compares well with a year ago, when it was 5.2%. However, inflation compounds and items keep going up every month. Image: Kampus Production Even though the increase in the cost of living has slowed substantially over the past year, declining by 2.4 percentage points year-on-year, your average monthly bills will still, in theory, have increased 2.6% between last May and now – adding R21 000 to bills over a year. However, Numbeo figures show that Johannesburg is among the cheapest cities in which to live, with only Delhi (India) and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil having a lower index. Statistics South Africa's latest inflation publication, for the May 2025 period, shows that the consumer price index was 2.8% on a yearly basis last month. This compares well with a year ago, when it was 5.2%. However, inflation compounds and items keep going up every month. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Based on a basket of goods the average South African may be spending their money on each month, and taking compounding into account against the base price, every day items will have cost R1 808 more than a year ago. The figures were worked out using a nifty inflation adjustment calculator. This is based on the most recent prices for this year, so it doesn't take cost variations into account. Even without historical price data on items such as DSTV Compact Plus not being readily available, the increase amounts to R21 702 over the year. And that's allowing for lower price hikes of one item offsetting the increase in others somewhat. It's worse if you smoke or drink – those items on average went up year-on-year by 4.3%. If your weekend party stash of drink cost R1 000 last May, it went up by R43. That, based on advertisements from liquor stores, is worth almost half the cost of a six pack of beer. Investec economist Lara Hodes breaks down the contributors to May's inflation print. 'Within the food basket, meat price inflation, which holds the highest weighting rose to 4.4% year-on-year from 3% year-on-year in April,' she wrote in a note. Moreover, Hodes wrote, oils and fats prices increased 5.6% year-on-year, while the price of fruits, nuts, and vegetables jumped between 10.3% and 13.5% year-on-year. The good news is that the rate of increase in the cost of living was in line with economist's consensus. IOL
