- Steep fall in wholesale and retail confidence has resulted in significant fall in South Africa’s business confidence index in the latest reported quarter of 2022.
The Steep fall in wholesale and retail confidence has resulted in a significant fall in South Africa’s business confidence index in the latest reported quarter of 2022.
A report by the Bureau for Economic Research by the Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) indicates that the business confidence index dropped one point to 38 in the quarter, compared with the three previous months.
Also read;
https://trendsnafrica.com/imf-says-the-south-africa-economy-is-yet-to-gain-momentum/
The wholesale confidence dropped from 50 to 37 points while retail confidence fell nine points to 42. The continuous energy crisis has played a key role in the overall decline. Frequent load shedding has raised cost of production while rising inflation curtailed consumer spending. RMB chief economist Ettienne Le Roux blamed the government’s inability to solve the energy crisis for the low business confidence. He observed that the slow pace of the government’s efforts in addressing the challenges like insufficient electricity, poorly functioning ports and a failing railway network have contributed to the fall in business confidence
