South Africa Manufacturing Sector Contracts For Second Month

(RTTNews) - South Africa's manufacturing sector contracted for the second straight month in March, but at a slower pace, survey figures from Kagiso Tiso Holdings showed Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted Kagiso Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 47.9 in March from 47.6 in the previous month. However, any reading below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.

The non-seasonally adjusted index also dropped to 49.1 in March from 49.5 in February.

New business activity index declined in March to the lowest level since 2014, due to lower demand. The corresponding index fell to 44.6 from 45.5 in the preceding month.

New sales order index came in at 49.0 in March, down from 49.3 in the prior month.

Meanwhile, the employment index gained by almost 4 points to 46.9 in March from 43.0 in February. But still below the neutral 50-point mark.

On the price front, input prices increased sharply in March, with the corresponding index rising to 67.9 from 60.4 in the prior month.