Consumer price inflation cooled slightly in November to 7.4%, from 7.6% in October.  

But food prices continue to climb – reaching 12.5% in November from 12.0% in October. Bread and cereal prices were 19.9% higher in November than a year ago, according to Statistics SA.

Statistics SA reported that the average price of a 2.5 kg bag of maize meal was R34.08 in November, from below R25.60 a year ago. In November last year, the average price for a white bread was around R15.68 – this rose to R18.68 in November.

Overall, meat price inflation was 10.5% in November, unchanged from the previous month. But the price of bacon rose by 6.4% in a single month.

For the year to November, prices of milk, eggs and cheese products rose by 10.9% - from 10.5% in October.

Full-cream milk rose by 2.4% from October to November, while coffee whitener prices increased by 4.6%.

But prices for oils and fats declined for the third consecutive month, cooling to 24.8% from 25.7% in October. The average price for a 750 ml bottle of sunflower oil was R38,12 in November, from a peak of R45.33 in July, Statistics SA reported.

Prices for transport (+15.3%) as well as hotels and restaurants (+7.9%) were much higher than a year before.

Statistics SA also reported large monthly price changes in electronic goods, including laptops (+1.6%), cell phones (+1.7%) and digital cameras (5.3%). However, television prices, declined by 1.5%.

Overall, the monthly change in the consumer price index (CPI) was 0.3% in November, slightly lower than the 0,4% recorded in October. Annual inflation hit a 13-year high of 7.8% in July.

The SA Reserve Bank only expects inflation to "sustainably" move back to its targeted level of 4.5% by the second quarter of 2024.