JOHANNESBURG, April 3 (Reuters) - South African
manufacturing activity contracted again in March as rotational
power cuts led to a deterioration in local business conditions,
a survey showed on Monday.
The seasonally-adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers' Index
(PMI) fell to 48.1 points in March from 48.8 points in February,
staying below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from
contraction for the second consecutive month.
"Domestic demand seems to be struggling, with some comments
referring to local demand faltering due to load-shedding (power
cuts)," Absa said in a statement.
State power utility Eskom has implemented power cuts every
day this year that sometimes last for up to 10 hours, after a
record number of days with outages last year.
However, Absa said the respondents in its survey are more
optimistic about business conditions going forward.
"Following a sharp deterioration in February, the index
tracking expected business conditions in six months' time rose
to 55.5 from 46.8 in February. This means that purchasing
managers generally expect conditions to look better later this
year," Absa said.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Olivia
Kumwenda-Mtambo)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.