South African inflation picks up in January

South Africa's headline consumer inflation quickened to 5.3% year on year in January from 5.1% in December, data showed on Wednesday. Key contributors to the annual inflation rate included food, housing, utilities and transport, according to a Statistics South Africa report. At its last monetary policy meeting in January, the central bank said it wanted to see a clearer disinflation trend before cutting interest rates. The South African Reserve Bank likes to see inflation around the mid-point of its 3% to 6% target range. Core inflation, which excludes food and fuel prices, accelerated in January to 4.7% in annual terms from 4.5% in December.