South Africa’s factory prices rose in September, with mining and electricity costs putting fresh pressure on producers.

According to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) from Statistics South Africa, prices at the factory gate increased by 2.3% compared to a year ago, up slightly from 2.1% in August.

The biggest driver was the mining sector, where production prices jumped by 16% from a year ago. Gold and other metal ores were up by 27%, while non-ferrous metals such as copper and aluminium rose by 22%. Higher metal prices tend to push up the costs of construction materials, vehicles, and manufactured goods that use steel or aluminium.

Electricity and water costs also spiked, climbing by 14.9% over the past year and up from 4.6% in August. Although there was a monthly dip after recent tariff adjustments, overall prices remain far higher than a year ago.

By contrast, farmers faced weaker prices. Agriculture, forestry and fishing producer prices fell 1.1%, down from 3% growth in August, mainly because of lower crop and horticultural prices. Food and beverage producers saw a modest rise of 3.8%, with dairy, grain and meat prices largely stable.