S. Africa’s manufacturing activates up in July – PMI

South African manufacturing activity rose in July, according to the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey released on Thursday. The seasonally adjusted PMI for the sector rose to 52.4 points in July, up from 45.7 in June. A PMI reading above 50 indicates growth.

Absa, the local bank sponsoring the survey, attributed the improvement to a pickup in both domestic and global demand. “In these months (May and June), significant policy uncertainty remained and hurt demand,”  Absa noted.

The survey also highlighted gains in the business activity sub-index and new sales orders. Absa commented that the increase suggests that previously on-hold orders are now being processed, leading to enhanced activity in the manufacturing sector.

Attribution: Reuters