South African business confidence rose to its highest in over three years in May, supported by higher export volumes and manufacturing, data showed on Wednesday.
The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Sacci’s) monthly business confidence index (BCI) increased to 97 in May from 94.7 in April.
The May BCI level was the highest since March 2018 when the BCI measured 97.6.
“The BCI points towards an improving business climate. This can, however, mainly be ascribed to an improved trade balance that positively affected the rand exchange rate which in turn took pressure off cost-push inflationary pressures,” Sacci said in a statement.
Sacci said a rise in merchandise export volumes was the main positive contributor to the BCI, and to a lesser extent manufacturing output and consistent energy supply during the month.
Beating expectations
South Africa’s economy is slowly on the mend after suffering a steep contraction of 7% in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Data on Tuesday showed the economy grew 4.6% quarter on quarter on a seasonally adjusted and annualised basis in the first three months of 2021, beating expectations. — Reported by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, (c) 2021 Reuters