https://www.engineeringnews.co.za
Africa|Business|rail
Africa|Business|rail
africa|business|rail

S Africa consumer confidence recovers in Q2, survey shows

Petrol

Photo by Bloomberg

27th June 2024

By: Reuters

  

Font size: - +

South Africa's consumer confidence improved slightly in the second quarter due to fewer hours of loadshedding and a drop in fuel and food prices, but uncertainty around national elections kept some consumers worried, data released on Thursday showed.

The consumer confidence index (CCI), sponsored by First National Bank (FNB) and compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER), improved to minus 12 points in the quarter, from minus 15 points in the first quarter.

"Positive developments such as the cessation of loadshedding during the second quarter, substantial cuts in fuel prices in June ... a significant deceleration in food inflation likely buoyed confidence levels, particularly among low- and middle-income consumers," FNB Chief Economist Mamello Matikinca-Ngwenya said.

However, the confidence among high-income households remained largely unchanged in the run-up to the national elections and amid persistently high interest rates.

"High interest rates and uncertainty over which parties would form part of South Africa's government of national unity (GNU) probably kept the lid on high-income confidence," Ngwenya said.

"Provided that the GNU remains intact and the JSE and rand exchange rate hold onto their recent gains, there is scope for an improvement in high-income confidence during the third quarter."

The African National Congress (ANC) and its largest rival, the white-led, pro-business Democratic Alliance have agreed to work together in South Africa's new government of national unity.

Investors anticipate that the unity government will pick up the pace on existing reform plans for electricity, rail and port sectors needed to revive an economy that has barely grown in the last decade and has an unemployment rate that is among the highest in the world.

Edited by Reuters

Comments

Showroom

Schauenburg SmartMine IoT
Schauenburg SmartMine IoT

SmartMine IoT has been developed with the mining industry in mind, to provides our customers with powerful business intelligence and data modelling...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Werner South Africa Pumps & Equipment (PTY) LTD
Werner South Africa Pumps & Equipment (PTY) LTD

For over 30 years, Werner South Africa Pumps & Equipment (PTY) LTD has been designing, manufacturing, supplying and maintaining specialist...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:1.525 1.592s - 163pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now