South Africa Leading Index Falls In January

(RTTNews) - South Africa's composite leading index dropped in January to the lowest level in five months, survey data from the South African Reserve Bank showed on Tuesday.

The composite leading index fell 0.5 percent month-on-month to 110.8 in January from 111.3 in December.

Further, this was the lowest reading since August 2023, when it was 110.4.

Compared to a year ago, the index declined 3.0 percent, versus a fall of 2.8 percent in December.

In January, seven out of ten of the component time series decreased, while the remaining three increased, the survey said.

The largest negative contributors were a deceleration in the six-month smoothed growth rate in job advertisement space and a decrease in the average hours worked per factory worker in the manufacturing sector.

Data showed that the coincident index weakened to 94.1 in December from 94.6 a month ago.

The lagging indicator also decreased to 109.0 in December from 109.9 in the previous month.