South Africa Private Sector Expands Slightly

(RTTNews) - South Africa's private sector showed a modest expansion in August amid a renewed rise in new orders, survey results from S&P Global showed Wednesday.

The purchasing managers' index rose to 50.5 in August from 49.3 in July. Any score below 50.0 indicates contraction, while a reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

New business grew at the fastest pace since August 2022 as increased economic and political stability strengthened domestic client spending.

South African companies faced supply and price pressures, including domestic port delays with longer wait times and international supply chain issues causing material and transportation costs, the survey said.

As a result, there was reduced output and lower employment in a bid to control costs. Higher wages also pushed input price inflation to a 3-month high in August, and selling prices also rose at a faster pace.

"Still, firms clearly believe that the recovery will be soon, as the most prominent finding from the latest survey was that output expectations are at their joint highest in nearly ten years," David Owen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said.