South African Factory Mood Sours to Worst Since Lockdown
- Slump reflects poor start to the year for manufacturing sector
- Expected business conditions index climbs to 58.7 from 57.9
Workers on a production line at a factory in Johannesburg.
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A gauge measuring South African manufacturer sentiment slumped to the lowest level since the strictest months of a Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, as demand and activity deteriorated sharply.
Absa Group Ltd.’s purchasing managers’ index, compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research, fell to 43.6 in January from 50.9 a month earlier, the Johannesburg-based lender said in an emailed statement on Thursday. That’s the lowest since May 2020 and below the median of three economists’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey of 50, indicating a contraction in an industry that accounts for about 15% of South Africa’s gross domestic product.