There are still no signs of business confidence improving, with the Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and Bureau of Economic Research (BER) Business Confidence Index (BCI) remaining unchanged at 36 in the first quarter of 2016.
“While sentiment recovered in four of the five sectors during the quarter, improvements were small,” said chief economist at RMB, Ettienne le Roux.
He pointed out that in the manufacturing sector, the survey results were bad all round. Production volumes remained weak which, combined with a noticeable drop in domestic sales volumes and even more depressed profitability levels, saw confidence falling to 2009 recession-like levels in the first quarter.
“The poor, and in some cases deteriorating underlying activity indicators, are worrying signs. This may well point to further weakness in GDP growth ahead,” said Le Roux.
