A man pushes a trolley loaded with a bag of maize meal outside a spaza shop in Thembisa, on the East Rand, in South Africa, August 2, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

JOHANNESBURG, May 22 (Reuters) – South Africa’s inflation slowed slightly in April, its second decline in a row but it still remains above the central bank’s preferred level.

Headline consumer inflation dropped to 5.2% year on year in April from 5.3% in March, Statistics South Africa data showed. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted inflation would come in at 5.3%.

The South African Reserve Bank has been trying to steer inflation to the midpoint of its target range of 3% to 6%, keeping its main interest rate at 8.25% ZAREPO=ECI since May 2023.

The central bank said last month that the path back to 4.5% inflation would probably be “bumpy and protracted” due to setbacks in the disinflation trajectory.

On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation was at 0.3% in April compared to 0.8% a month before.

Core inflation, which excludes food and fuel prices, was at 4.6% year on year in April, down from 4.9% in March.

(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning)

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