South African Consumer Mood Slumps on Tax Hike, Fraying US Ties

South African consumer confidence plunged to the lowest level in almost two years, as worries about higher taxes and the country’s deteriorating relations with the US weighed on sentiment.

A quarterly index measuring consumer sentiment slumped to -20 in the three months through March from -6 in the previous quarter, FirstRand Ltd.’s First National Bank said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. That’s the lowest level since the second quarter of 2023.