Johannesburg - South Africa’s Business Confidence Index fell to its lowest in 16.5 years when it slipped by 2.3 points to 84.6 points in June, down from 86.9 points in May.
The index was 5.1 points below its level in June 2014. The index was released by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
“The domestic and world economic climate remains uncertain with advanced economies and China, except for the USA economy, failing to provide the necessary inducement,” SACCI said in a statement.
SACCI also pointed to the unfolding Greek debt crisis, which has seen a referendum produce a no vote and a finance minister resign, as creating uncertainty in dealing with the European Union, one of South Africa’s important trading partners.
All seven of the sub indices declined, while four of the six financial indices were negative Five out of seven real activity sub indices were negative, with the only piece of good news coming from private sector borrowing, which was up and suggested that companies were gearing up to spend in the second half of the year. The South African Reserve Bank recently said private sector borrowing may be driven by listed property companies.
SACCI economist, Richard Downing said that export volumes and building construction were two key indicators that were not doing well.
Earlier this month, the FNB/Bureau for Economic Research said that consumer confidence fell to a 14.5 year low in the second quarter of this year.
ANA