S. Africa Producer Price Inflation Slows In February

(RTTNews) - South Africa's producer prices rose for a third month in a row in February, but the pace of increase eased slightly, preliminary data from Statistics South Africa showed on Thursday.

The producer price index rose 1.0 percent year-on-year in February following a 1.1 percent increase in January. Economists were looking for a 1.3 percent climb. The main contributor to the headline PPI annual inflation rate was food products, beverages and tobacco products, where prices rose 4.2 percent and contributed 1,2 percentage points, the statistical office said.

The PPI rose 0.4 percent from the previous month, which was slower than the 0.7 percent increase economists had forecast.