This increase is within the South African Reserve Bank's target range of between 3% and 6%.

Stats SA chief director for price statistics, Patric Kelly said the CPI increased by 0.6% between August and September, of which 0.4% was contributed by transport.

The fuel index increased for a second consecutive month, rising by 7.6% between August and September and the price of inland 95 octane petrol hit a 13-month high of R24.54 in September.

The main contributors to the increase were food and non-alcoholic beverages, which increased by 8.1% year-on-year, housing and utilities, miscellaneous goods and services and transport.

The sizable step up in CPI doesn’t bode well for interest rates, which are already at a 14-year high.

 In the twice-yearly Monetary Policy Review, which was published this week by the Reserve Bank, it was noted that upside risks have strengthened in recent months, heightening uncertainty about the precise path for inflation.

Not only have oil prices risen sharply, inflation expectations remain elevated and together with the increased intensity of load shedding, that could feed into wages and prices.

Oil prices remain volatile as fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza continues and if the conflict spreads more widely throughout the oil-rich Middle East, there will be heightened risks for supply, meaning that crude prices may rise further.

Annual health inflation edged higher to 6.5% in September from 6.2% in August as this is the highest rate for health since November 2017 when it was also 6.5%.

Prices for medical products increased by 7.5% in the 12 months to September and food inflation was slightly higher after cooling for the past five months.

Meanwhile, Egg prices registered a monthly increase of 0.3% after a decline of 0.4% in August and poultry-related products experienced some upward price movement in September as producers started to cull birds in response to the outbreak of avian flu.