JOHANNESBURG, March 3 (Reuters) - South African private
sector activity stabilised in February after a sharp drop the
previous month, a survey showed on Friday.
The S&P Global South Africa Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI)
rose to 50.5 in February from 48.7 in January. A reading above
50 reflects growth.
"The latest South Africa PMI helped to allay fears of a
renewed downturn in the private sector economy, after a rocky
start to the year saw the headline index hit a 13-month low,"
said David Owen, senior economist at S&P Global Market
Intelligence.
"However, while output levels stabilised in February, they
did so after contracting at a solid pace," Owen added.
Surveyed firms reported a slight recovery in purchasing
levels, but the outlook for future activity worsened further and
firms cut employment for the first time in a year, the PMI
showed.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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