- Transport prices were 10.8% higher than a year ago, while housing and utility costs were up 5.2%.
- Petrol jumped by more than R3 a litre in October, while the average household food basket rose only R24.47.
October’s biggest cost-of-living pain did not come from the supermarket.
Food prices moved up only slightly, but getting to work, filling a tank and paying household bills took a much bigger bite out of people’s money.
The latest complete inflation figures available are for September. They show overall prices were 4.5% higher than a year earlier. Transport costs were up 10.8%, while housing and utilities were 5.2% more expensive.
Transport alone contributed 1.5 percentage points to the 4.5% inflation rate, more than any other category.
Then October made fuel even more expensive.
On 7 October, 95 petrol rose R3.33 a litre and 93 petrol increased R3.12. Diesel went up by R2.84 or R3.24 a litre, depending on the grade.
For someone filling a 50-litre tank with 95 petrol, the October increase added R166.50 to one fill-up.
Paraffin users were hit even harder. The maximum retail price rose R4.77 a litre.
Food was moving in the opposite direction.
The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group’s October Household Affordability Index found that its basket of 44 foods cost R5,512.53.
That was only about R24 more than September and 1.3% higher than a year earlier.
Stats SA’s broader measure also showed food and non-alcoholic drinks rising much more slowly than transport. Food inflation was 1.2% in September.
This does not mean households suddenly had spare cash for groceries.
The affordability index uses a minimum-wage example showing how quickly other basic costs eat into a salary.
A worker earning R30.23 an hour for eight hours a day over 22 working days would earn R5,320.48 before deductions.
In the group’s Pietermaritzburg example, transport costs R2,112 a month and 350 units of prepaid electricity cost R1,263.45.
Together, transport and electricity take R3,375.45, or more than 63% of that wage.
Only R1,945.03 remains before food, rent, school costs, toiletries and other household needs are paid.
Some relief is due from 4 November.
The fuel levy will temporarily fall by R1.50 a litre on petrol and R3 on diesel until 1 December. The reduction then becomes smaller until early January.
But October’s lesson is that a fairly calm grocery basket does not mean the cost-of-living squeeze has eased.
For many households, the biggest damage came before they even reached the supermarket.
