After three successive months of surprisingly strong figures, albeit relative in terms of sluggish growth, South Africa’s manufacturing sector is trending downwards, Absa bank’s latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) reveals.
Compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER), the PMI fell to 45.7 points in August, down from 52.1 in July.
And although the PMI had curved upwards slightly since May, prompting hopes that the country’s industrial futures could be turning around, August’s drop heralds the seventh month this year that the index has dipped below the 50-point level.
All KPI indices are said to be sitting below 50 and data predictions of prospects for 2019’s remaining months are also not adding a rosy glow to the BER’s glum findings.
Contributing to the negative outlook is the employment index which has decreased to 39.1, the lowest level it has been in the past five years.
In its reaction to the figures Absa said: “Respondents continued to be fairly downbeat about exports for a third straight month, while domestic demand likely also weighed on orders.”
