JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African manufacturers reported a continued deterioration in business conditions in February, a local purchasing managers’ index (PMI) survey showed on Monday.
The seasonally-adjusted PMI sponsored by South African bank Absa slipped to 44.7 points in February from 45.3 in January, falling further below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction.
“This is the fourth consecutive contraction, as activity remains subdued. The manufacturing sector has seemingly not picked up following its poor performance towards the end of last year,” Absa said in a statement.
Respondents flagged a fall in business activity as a response to both a decline in demand and input supply issues.
Export sales also fell further into contractionary territory mainly owing to lower-than-expected demand, global trade disagreements and logistics issues.
“Uncertainties about global trade dynamics continued, with some respondents flagging that increased tension in SA-US relations had specifically worsened their prospects,” Absa said.
President Donald Trump cut U.S. financial assistance to South Africa in an executive order last month, citing disapproval of its approach to land reform and its genocide case against Washington’s close ally Israel at the World Court.
Absa said the return of scheduled power cuts after months of consistent supply may have also weighed on sentiment last month.
(Reporting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning)
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