The RMB/BER business confidence index in South Africa fell for the fifth successive quarter to a near three-year low of 27 points in the second quarter of 2023. Sentiment deteriorated further due to persistent load-shedding and challenging economic conditions amid rising interest rates and cost pressures. The manufacturing sector remained the most downbeat, with confidence at 17 points, while retail confidence declined by 14 points to 20 reflecting pressures on profitability and worsening of business conditions. "It remains unclear as to what will meaningfully lift confidence over the short term, especially as load-shedding could get worse over the winter months," RMB Chief Economist Isaah Mhlanga said. "Some of the drivers of negative sentiment such as strained geo-diplomacy could be resolved in the coming months, while current constraints on business conditions such as load-shedding could look somewhat better in 2024 and may support an improvement in confidence over time.", he added. source: Bureau for Economic Research (BER)

Business Confidence in South Africa averaged 42.80 points from 1975 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 92.00 points in the third quarter of 1980 and a record low of 5.00 points in the second quarter of 2020. This page provides - South Africa Business Confidence - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. South Africa Business Confidence - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on August of 2023.

Business Confidence in South Africa is expected to be 30.00 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the South Africa Business Confidence is projected to trend around 32.00 points in 2024 and 40.00 points in 2025, according to our econometric models.

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South Africa Business Confidence



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2023-03-08 10:00 AM Q1 36 38 35
2023-06-07 10:00 AM Q2 27 36 30
2023-09-07 10:00 AM Q3 27 23


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Manufacturing PMI 47.29 47.60 points Jul 2023
Business Confidence 27.00 36.00 points Jun 2023

South Africa Business Confidence
In South Africa, the BER Business Confidence Index covers 1,400 business people in the building sector, 1,400 in the trade sector and 1,000 in manufacturing. The survey assesses the level of optimism that senior executives in the companies have about current and expected developments regarding sales, orders, employment, inventories and selling prices. The index varies on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 indicates an extreme lack of confidence, 50 neutrality and 100 extreme confidence.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
27.00 36.00 92.00 5.00 1975 - 2023 points Quarterly

News Stream
South Africa Business Morale Drops to Near 3-Year Low
The RMB/BER business confidence index in South Africa fell for the fifth successive quarter to a near three-year low of 27 points in the second quarter of 2023. Sentiment deteriorated further due to persistent load-shedding and challenging economic conditions amid rising interest rates and cost pressures. The manufacturing sector remained the most downbeat, with confidence at 17 points, while retail confidence declined by 14 points to 20 reflecting pressures on profitability and worsening of business conditions. "It remains unclear as to what will meaningfully lift confidence over the short term, especially as load-shedding could get worse over the winter months," RMB Chief Economist Isaah Mhlanga said. "Some of the drivers of negative sentiment such as strained geo-diplomacy could be resolved in the coming months, while current constraints on business conditions such as load-shedding could look somewhat better in 2024 and may support an improvement in confidence over time.", he added.
2023-06-07
South Africa Business Morale Hits 2-Year Low
The RMB/BER business confidence index in South Africa fell for the fourth consecutive quarter to a two-year low of 36 in the first quarter of 2023, pointing to a gloomy business outlook. The gauges tracking sentiment manufacturers (17 vs 26 in Q4) and retailers (34 vs 42) “nosedived” in the quarter, leading to a decline in the overall index, RMB said. "While the outcome could have been worse given the severity of power outages and the associated drop-off in business activity, the result is nonetheless disappointing", said Ettienne le Roux, chief economist at RMB.
2023-03-08
South Africa Business Morale Drops Further in Q4
The RMB/BER business confidence index in South Africa fell for the third consecutive quarter to 38 in the fourth quarter of 2022, the lowest since the first quarter of 2021. Whilst sentiment deteriorated among wholesalers (37 vs 50 in Q3) and retailers (42 vs 51), it improved sharply for constructors (46 vs 29) thanks to seasonal factors. "There is no denying the fact that the economy would be doing so much better were it not for the slow pace that continues to describe the government's efforts in addressing growth-damaging constraints such as insufficient electricity, poorly functioning ports and a failing railway network," RMB chief economist Ettienne Le Roux said.
2022-11-23