Private-sector business activity in January improved from last year’s weak close, thanks to slower contractions in both company output and new orders.
The headline PMI reached 48.3 index points in January, up from 47.6 in December, “to signal a softer and only moderate deterioration in SA private-sector business conditions”, the company said in a release. However, the rate of decline in these two sub-components eased, helping lift the headline number, “signalling that the downturn may have bottomed out”.
The SA PMI follows on from a similar gauge assessing business conditions in the manufacturing industry, released earlier this week.
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