Annual producer price inflation for final manufactured goods rose to 6.2% in September from 5.0% in August, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Thursday. The index rose 1.0% on the month.

Petroleum products drove the move. Stats SA’s group for coke, petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products rose 4.2% on the month and is 19.1% above September 2025. That group contributed 4.1 of the 6.2 percentage points in the annual rate and 1.0 point of the monthly rise.

Diesel and petrol

Within the group, the index for coal and petroleum products rose 8.6% in the month and is 32.9% higher over the year. Diesel rose 11.8% on the month and 51.8% on the year. Petrol rose 5.9% and 28.2%. Metals, machinery, equipment and computing equipment, the next-largest contributor, were up 3.4% on the year and added 0.5 of a point.

Excluding petroleum products, final manufactured goods prices fell 0.2% on the month and were 2.9% higher than in September 2025. Excluding food, the annual rate was 7.5%. Food products, beverages and tobacco, which carry a weight of 29.22%, were unchanged on the month and 1.2% higher over the year.

Other sectors

Intermediate manufactured goods inflation eased to 7.8% from 8.8%, with a monthly rise of 0.1%. Mining producer prices rose 2.9% on the month and 7.3% on the year, the same annual rate as August. Non-ferrous metal ores contributed 7.1 points of that annual rate, and coal and gas 2.1 points. Precious metals and stones were 13.1% higher than a year earlier.

Producer price inflation, final manufactured goods, year on year
02%4%6%8%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSep20266.2%20252.3%
02%4%6%8%JanMarMayJulSep20266.2%20252.3%

Source: Statistics South Africa, Producer Price Index P0142.1, September 2026 (Table C1). Chart: Rand Desk

Agriculture, forestry and fishing moved from deflation to inflation. The annual rate was 2.5%, against -1.8% in August, after a monthly rise of 2.1%.

The electricity and water index fell 17.7% on the month, with electricity down 20.5%. The same September drop appears in each of the previous four years in the Stats SA table: from 158.0 in August 2025 to 129.3 in September 2025, for example. Annual inflation for the group was 8.4%, up from 7.8%.

From 2.3% in March to 6.2%

Producer inflation for final manufactured goods was 2.3% in March and 4.8% in April. It peaked at 7.8% in May and eased to 5.0% by August before September’s rise. A year earlier the rate was between 0.1% and 2.3% in every month from January to September.

The consumer price index showed the same fuel pressure at the till: consumer inflation was 4.5% in September. Early data points to a petrol rise in November, while the fuel levy cut from 4 November is set to take some of that off the pump price. The fuel price formula explains how international oil prices reach the pump.

Stats SA publishes the October producer figures on 26 November.