South Africa Factory Outlook Dims as Business Activity Drops

Workers at a textile factory, Cape Town, South Africa.

Photographer: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg

South African manufacturing sentiment soured slightly in February as business activity weakened and employment declined.

Absa Group Ltd.’s Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research, slipped to 47.4 from 48.7 in January, the Johannesburg-based lender said in an emailed statement on Monday.