South Africa Business Mood Unexpectedly Jumps to Pre-Virus Levels
- RMB/BER index rises to 24 in third quarter from 5 previously
- Almost 80% of respondents still unhappy with conditions
Customers sit at tables outside on the terrace area of a cafe in the Camps Bay area of Cape Town, South Africa on Aug. 19.
Photographer: Dwayne Senior/BloombergSouth African business confidence unexpectedly recovered in the third quarter to levels last seen before the coronavirus and restrictions to curb its spread, indicating the economy may have passed the low point in its cycle.
A quarterly gauge measuring sentiment rose to 24 from a record low of 5 in the previous three months, FirstRand Ltd.’s Rand Merchant Bank unit said Wednesday in a statement. That’s the highest level since the last quarter of 2019, when the index measured 26. The median estimate of three economists in a Bloomberg survey was for the indicator, which is compiled by Stellenbosch University’s Bureau for Economic Research, to rise to 8.