The consumer
The squeeze, on one page.
What South African households pay for food, fuel and power, what it costs them to borrow, and what they earn and spend, from the latest numbers. Pressure on the wallet shows up first in Wants, then in Needs.
- Monthly food basket
- R5,488.06
- +2.0% on a year ago
- 95 petrol inland, per litre
- R30.25
- +39.9% on a year ago
- Household electricity, per kWh
- R4.52
- March 2026
- Prime lending rate
- 10.75%
- 07 Oct 2026
- Inflation (CPI)
- 4.4%
- Aug
A minimum-wage monthThe wage against the basket.
A full-time job at the national minimum wage pays R5,078.64 a month. The PMBEJD food basket for a low-income family of seven costs R5,488.06. The wage covers 93% of it, before transport, electricity, school costs or debt.
- National minimum wage, full monthR5,078.64
- Household food basket, family of sevenR5,488.06
- Basic nutritional basket, family of sevenR6,655.29
- Old-age grantR2,400.00
- Child Support Grant, per childR580.00
- Social Relief of Distress grantR370.00
- Upper-bound poverty line, per personR2,962.00
- Food poverty line, per personR868.00
September 2026. Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group (PMBEJD), Household Affordability Index.
FoodThe monthly food basket.
The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group prices 44 foods that low-income households buy each month, off the shelves of 52 supermarkets and 36 butcheries in seven towns and cities. It is the closest thing South Africa has to a real shopping-list price.
All 44 foods, and the basket city by city · Your month, now and a year ago
FuelWhat it costs to fill up.
Fuel prices are set by the government every month from the oil price, the rand and fixed taxes and levies. They feed into transport, food and almost everything on a shop shelf.
| Per litre | October 2026 | September 2026 | October 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95 petrol, inland | R30.25 | R26.92+12.4% | R21.63+39.9% |
| 95 petrol, coastal | R29.38 | R26.05+12.8% | R20.80+41.2% |
| 93 petrol, inland | R29.88 | R26.76+11.7% | R21.48+39.1% |
| 93 petrol, coastal | R29.09 | R25.97+12.0% | R20.69+40.6% |
| Diesel 0.05%, inland (wholesale) | R31.95 | R29.11+9.8% | R19.34+65.2% |
| Diesel 0.05%, coastal (wholesale) | R31.08 | R28.24+10.1% | R18.51+67.9% |
Official prices for October 2026. Diesel prices are wholesale; pump prices for diesel are higher. Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources official prices, as recorded by the AA.
Every month since 2008, and our estimate for next month
What sets the next price
- Brent crude
- US$100.93 +54.2% on a year ago
- Rand per US dollar
- R16.63 -3.0% on a year ago
Power
- Households
- R4.52 / kWh
- Businesses
- R2.29 / kWh
Average household and business electricity prices, including network charges and taxes, collected in March 2026.
The official numbersPrices, borrowing, spending, jobs.
What it costs
- Inflation (CPI)4.4%
- Core inflation4.1%
- Producer prices (PPI)5.0%
What it costs to borrow
- Interest rates (repo rate)7.25%
- Credit growth+7.5%
- Prime lending rate10.75%
What they spend
- Retail sales+3.4%
- New vehicle sales61,650
- Consumer confidence-13
What they earn
- Unemployment33.6%
- Economic growth (GDP)+0.9%
Debt and spendingWhat households owe.
Household debt, % of GDP
IMF Global Debt Database: loans and debt securities owed by households, as a share of the economy.
Household spending growth, real
World Bank: the yearly change in what households spend, after inflation.
What the market thinksWants versus Needs.
Who wins, who losesThe squeeze on the JSE.
How the shares in the ACI Needs and ACI Wants indexes have moved over the year, while 95 petrol went from R21.63 to R30.25 a litre inland. Needs are what people buy anyway; Wants are what they cut first.
Needs: up the most
- 01
Oceana OCEOn the shelf+27.3% - 02
Shoprite SHPGrocers+15.0% - 03
Boxer BOXGrocers+13.8% - 04Premier PMROn the shelf+10.0%
- 05
Quantum Foods QFHOn the shelf+9.3%
Wants: down the most
- 01
TFG TFGFashion-56.1% - 02
Cashbuild CSBHome & build-31.4% - 03
Woolworths WHLFashion-29.7% - 04
Pepkor PPHFashion-28.3% - 05
Truworths TRUFashion-20.9%
Share moves over the past year from delayed closing prices. Past moves say nothing certain about the future.
QuestionsGood to know.
When the cost of essentials (food, fuel, electricity and debt repayments) rises faster than incomes, households have less left for everything else. Retailers selling discretionary goods usually feel it first.
The Household Affordability Index from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group: the monthly cost of 44 foods that low-income households, designed with women in seven areas, try to buy for a family of seven.
The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources adjusts regulated fuel prices on the first Wednesday of each month, based on international product prices, the rand exchange rate and fixed taxes, levies and margins.
Food basket: PMBEJD Household Affordability Index, read monthly. Fuel: the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources’ official monthly prices. Electricity: GlobalPetrolPrices.com, from Eskom and NERSA figures. Rates: the South African Reserve Bank. Official releases: Stats SA, the Reserve Bank, BER and NAAMSA via TradingView’s economic calendar. Household debt: IMF. Household spending: World Bank.
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