Business confidence index drops

Filomena Scalise

Filomena Scalise

Published May 14, 2014

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Johannesburg - Sacci's business confidence index (BCI) declined only by 0.1 index point in April, the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry reported on Wednesday.

The BCI for April stood at 92.6 from 92.7 in March, it said in a statement.

The April figure was 0.3 index points higher than its April 2013 level.

Sacci found there were no signs that the general election affected the business psyche negatively.

“However, the policy positions to be embraced will no doubt have an impact on business confidence,” it said.

“Improvements in the BCI will reflect the domestic economy’s response to business-friendly policies by the newly-elected government, global market trends in relation to South Africa and the economic performance of advanced economies.”

The chamber said prompt action by the new administration was required if permanent fault lines in the economy were to be averted.

Meanwhile, the public holidays in April did not affect the business mood negatively, it said.

“Five of the 13 sub-indices of the Sacci BCI had negative month-on-month impacts in April 2014.”

Four of the seven physical economic activity sub-indices were negative on a month-on-month basis in April, two were positive, while one index was unchanged.

“On an annual basis, seven of the BCI sub-indices were in negative territory in April 2014, a similar number to that of March 2014,” it said. - Sapa

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