Off the wire
• Monetary easing seems less likely for China in June: Nomura  • Ukraine mulls resuming gas imports from Russia in Q3  • Nearly 1,000 wrestlers compete in N. China Bokh races  • Result of China VS Kazakhstan at warm-up match  • At least 5 killed in car bomb attack in Iraq's Karbala  • Kenya women's rugby team ready for Rome Sevens conquest  • Tanzania Parliament ratifies convention against doping in sport  • Indonesia's economy to grow 6 pct next year: forecast  • Hungarian parliament amends constitution to combat terrorism  • 2nd LD Writethru: Eurozone Q1 GDP growth revised up to 0.6 pct  
You are here: 　 Home

S. Africa's business confidence suffers setback in May

Xinhua, June 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

South Africa's Business Confidence Index (BCI) suffered a setback in May after a gradual recovery in April, according to data released here on Tuesday.

The BCI came in at 79.3 in May, down 7.6 points compared to the May 2015 level. It was also 3.2 points lower compared to April 2016, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) said.

Setbacks in the real business environment were evident in last month with four of the seven sub-indices declining month-on-month while the financial climate deteriorated even more.

The largest negative year-on-year contribution to the BCI in May came from the rand exchange rate followed by new vehicle sales and all-share prices on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

The only positive year-on-year impact on the BCI in May came from municipal services.

The main matters that could seriously affect the immediate South African economic conditions and the business climate are the announcements by Standard and Poor's and Fitch regarding South Africa's sovereign credit rating, said the chamber.

South Africa avoided a downgrade to junk status last week by Standard and Poor's, but the government will have to give serious attention to measures that promote the production side of the economy, he said.

The sovereign credit rating should serve to emphasize the need for revisiting the economic policy narrative to restore business and investor confidence, said Mukoki. Endit