Johannesburg - South Africa's seasonally adjusted HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index nudged up to 51.6 in November from 51.5 in October, partly as new orders increased.
“Further improvements in domestic demand, employment and export orders, which expanded for the first time in six months, are welcome positives and indicate potential upsides for economic activity and South Africa's external balance going into 2014,” HSBC economist David Faulkner said.
However the improvement was expected to be gradual with a weak rand exchange rate, down 22 percent against the dollar this year, putting pressure on companies' costs. - Reuters