Producer price inflation slows slightly to 5.8% for June

Stats SA announced on Thursday that the annual producer price index for June was 5.8%, down from 6.4% in May.

The producer price index is a weighted index of prices that businesses charge at the wholesale or producer level for final manufactured goods. 

Although not the biggest contributor to inflation, electricity and water prices increased by an annualised 9.3% in June, compared to 9.8% in May. The index increased by 32.6% month-on-month. Electricity increases contributed the most to the change.

The main contributors to the annual headline PPI inflation rate were coke, petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products which increased by 8.3%; and food products, beverages and tobacco products which increased by 4.8%, Stats SA said.

Prices for intermediate manufactured goods increased by 4.5% in June, increasing 0.4% from May. 

Prices in mining increased 14.6% in June, compared to 18.1% reported in May. The main contributors to the annual rate of change were gold and other metal ores, followed by non-ferrous metal ores.

Prices in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, meanwhile, declined 1.9% in June 2019.