High South African inflation edges lower: official data

JOHANNESBURG: South African inflation ticked down to 6.3 percent in July, government data showed on Wednesday, easing pressure slightly on consumers.

The consumer price index was 0.3 points lower than June, thanks in part to a drop in the price of food staples such as bread, cereals and meat, according to Statistics South Africa.

The indicator was also good news for the South African Reserve Bank, which is trying to get inflation under control through a series of interest rate rises.

In July the bank raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.75 percent and slashed its 2014 growth forecast.

The bank "faces an increasingly difficult dilemma of rising inflation and slowing growth," governor Gill Marcus noted.