Absa released its latest Purchasing Managers’ Index , showing businesses in South Africa have little hope for the near term as business conditions deteriorated for the fourth consecutive month.
According to the bank, the PMI edged down to 49.2 in May 2023 from 49.8 in April, signalling a lack of positive business activity and production. The indices are then calculated by taking the percentage of respondents that reported an increase and adding it to one-half of the portion that reported no change.
Regarding the business conditions for May, the business activity index was virtually unchanged from a subdued April – sitting at 47.7 – as load shedding was roughly similar in April and May and likely did not weigh more or less on activity in May than the previous month, said the bank.