A production line of German car manufacturer Audi, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease in Ingolstadt, Germany, June 3, 2020.The latest ABSA Purchasing Managers Index which measures business conditions has shown some improvement in April on the back of reduced load shedding in the month.A reading above the neutral 50 index points indicates expansion, while a number below 50 indicates contraction.
Economist at ABSA, Sello Sekele says this rebound has been supported by improved business activity, increased domestic demand, and a relief in port congestions, coupled with a month without load shedding. “It looks like Eskom is gunning for about Stage 2 as the most probable scenario during the winter months. So, businesses should be fine if load shedding remains around those levels. And in terms of ports, there, we’re seeing significant improvement to where we were in December. So, now it takes about five to four days to birth goods there, but if you remember, in December, it took about 11 days.”