Richer households show biggest decline in consumer sentiment - survey | Business

A quarterly index measuring sentiment fell to -23 in the three months through March from -8 in the previous quarter, First National Bank said in an emailed statement Thursday. That’s the lowest level since the second quarter of 2022, when deadly floods wrought havoc in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province and the impact of the war in Ukraine started to manifest, the bank said.

South Africa is suffering from an energy crisis, with state utility Eskom implementing blackouts, known locally as load shedding, on all but one day this year. While the outages are needed to protect the grid from collapse when the company’s aging plants can’t meet demand, they’re sapping economic growth.

Rocked by the intensifying electricity crisis and cost-of-living concerns, the FNB/BER Consumer Confidence Index plunged to -23 index points during 2023Q1, from -8 index points during 2022Q4.

Singapore Singapore Latest News, Singapore Singapore Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

South African finance boss is at the centre of Credit Suisse rescue battle | BusinessAs the 166-year-old Credit Suisse came close to collapse over the past week, its South African-born chief financial officer Dixit Joshi played a pivotal role in trying to save the bank. | News24_Business
Source: News24 - 🏆 4. / 80 Read more »