Consumer prices rose 3% from a year earlier, compared with 3.1% in August, Statistics South Africa said. It matched the median estimate of 15 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Prices rose 0.2% in the month.

The drop may provide some room for the Reserve Bank to ease interest rates further in November, if the outlook for the economy continues to deteriorate. 

The monetary policy committee kept its key interest rate at 3.5% last month after 300 basis points of easing and said inflation will remain close to the 4.5% midpoint of its target range in 2021 and 2022.

Moneyweb