South Africa's headline consumer inflation rose less than expected in December, to 3.0% year on year from 2.9% in November, data from the statistics agency showed on Wednesday. In month-on-month terms inflation was at 0.

The Labor Department released the inflation report for December, which showed prices were up 2.9% from a year ago, in line with economists expectations and up from 2.7% in November.

This means that, on average, the prices of goods and services were 3% higher in December 2024 than they were a year ago. The CPI also showed a small month-on-month increase of 0.1

South Africa's inflation rate rose for the second month in a row in December but by less than expected, with analysts saying the central bank was still likely to deliver another interest rate cut next week.