JOHANNESBURG (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)
