Pretoria - Business confidence took a dip on April falling to 92.6 from 92.7 in March, said the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci).
Releasing its monthly Business Confidence Index (BCI) on Wednesday, Sacci said that business confidence remained unchanged as BCI declined by 0.1 index point.
Sacci noted that there were no signs that the recent elections affected the business psyche negatively.
“However, the policy positions to be embraced will no doubt have an impact on business confidence. The business climate and business response are to a large degree dependent on the rapid implementation of important facets of the National Development Plan [NDP] and the adherence to sound public sector management and accountability.
“Prompt action by the newly elected government is required if permanent fault lines in the economy are to be averted,” said Sacci
Of the 13 indices, five had negative month-on-month impacts in April. Only one sub-index of the six financial sub-indices had a negative month-on-month impact on the BCI in April, while three were positive and two remained unchanged.
Four of the seven physical economic activity sub-indices were negative on a month-on-month basis in April 2014, two were positive, while one index was unchanged.
On an annual basis, seven of the BCI sub-indices were in negative territory in April 2014 – which is a similar number to that of March 2014. The six positive year-on-year changes in April 2014 are an improvement on the four sub-indices that were positive in March 2014.
“Improvements in the BCI will reflect the domestic economy’s response to business-friendly policies by the newly elected government, global market trends in relation to South Africa and the economic performance of advanced economies.”
The three public holidays in April did not affect the business mood negatively. The BCI was 0.3 index points above the April 2013. - SAnews.gov.za
