The Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) business confidence index, put together by the Bureau for Economic Research, rose to 40 points in the first quarter of 2017 – up from 38 in the last quarter of 2016.
According to Reuters, this is well below the 50-mark separating net positive and negative territories. In fact, only four times since 2008 has the index risen above the 50-mark, which RMB had said is indicative of a flailing economy.
Indeed, South Africa has struggled the last while: foreign investment is low, growth is weak, consumer spending has decreased and the threat of a credit downgrade to junk hangs heavy over everything. What's more, the economy contracted 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the final quarter of last year, though business confidence has risen slightly.
