For the second month in a row, respondents to the Absa Purchasing Managers' Index scaled back their optimism about future business conditions.
The seasonally adjusted Absa PMI fell to 45.0 points in March from 46.2 in February. This was the third consecutive month of decline, according to a statement released on Monday. The new sales orders sub-index edged lower by 0.5 points to reach 42.4 in March. The index suggests that demand was weaker in the first quarter of 2019 than during the fourth quarter of 2018.According to the index report, this seems to stem from a deterioration in export performance, while domestic demand conditions also remained poor."Exporters are faced with slower global growth, particularly in the Eurozone, which is a key trading partner.
On the back of a further dip in output, the employment sub-index declined by 5.4 points to reach 42.7 in March. After five months of decelerating cost increases, the purchasing price sub-index ticked up to 74.3 in March."The acceleration in cost pressures was likely due to the sharp fuel price hike at the start of the month, as well as the weaker rand exchange rate during March compared to February," states the index report.
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