Africa-Press – South-Africa. Sentiment among South African manufacturers plunged to the weakest level since lockdowns were implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic, as export sales remain weak and the manufacturing industry struggles to gain traction.
Absa’s Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research, fell to 42 in November from 49.2 in the prior month, the Johannesburg-based lender said in an emailed statement on Monday.
That places the PMI below the 50 level — which indicates an expansion — for a second consecutive month and at the lowest since April 2020, the data shows.
The biggest contributor to the slump was a steep decline in the index reading for new sales orders to 35.6 from 48.9 in October.
“Export sales remained weak – as they have been since the end of 2024 – suggesting that a renewed drop in demand was largely driven by the domestic economy,” Absa said. “Indeed, some comments refer to a slowdown after a short-lived revival.”
The business activity index declined to 36.7 from 49.4, reflecting persistent weakness and a “lack of traction” in South Africa’s official manufacturing data.
South Africa will publish third-quarter gross domestic data on Tuesday that’s expected to show the economy grew 0.5%, according to the median estimate of 11 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Manufacturing data for the three months through September show the sector only managed 0.1% growth.
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