South Africa Consumer Price Index Rose to 5.1% in September

South African consumer prices rose 5.1% in September compared to a year earlier, the country's statistics office said Wednesday.

That marked a slight increase from the 4.8% inflation seen in August, but stayed firmly within the central bank's target range of annual price increases of between 3% and 6%.

September's inflation reading could dampen expectations of a further rate cut by the South African Reserve Bank. The bank has been cautious about cutting rates beyond an 0.25 percentage-point reduction to 6.75% in July, even as Africa's most developed economy battles with low growth and high unemployment.

Write to Alexandra Wexler at alexandra.wexler@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 18, 2017 04:27 ET (08:27 GMT)