MENSE are feeling the pain at the till, with a basket of everyday items costing almost R2 000 a month more than it did last year.
This, despite Statistics South Africa’s inflation report from last month stating that the consumer price index (CPI) stands at 2.8 percent year-on-year – a helse improvement from the 5.2 percent from last year.
While drop is a positive trend, the compounding nature of inflation means that prices for essential goods continue to rise each month.
Based on a basket of goods and taking compounding into account against the base price, the average South African be spending around R1 808 extra over the month than a year ago.
Bread (from R14.99), eggs (from R44.99), milk (from R14.99 a litre), fruit and veg, rice (from R38.99), sugar (from R44.99), and cooking oil (from R59.99) are all up.
This is based on the most recent prices for this year, and while you might land a couple of deals, these numbers don’t take cost variations into account.
Investec economist Lara Hodes breaks down the contributors to May’s inflation print.
She told Business Report: “Within the food basket, meat price inflation, which holds the highest weighting rose to 4.4 percent year-on-year from three percent year-on-year in April.”
And if you like a dop and an entjie to unwind at the weekend, it’s even worse.
If your party stash of drankies cost R1 000 last June, it went up by R43.