South Africa’s private sector activity declines as demand weakens in October, PMI shows

South Africa’s private sector activity contracted for the first time in seven months in October, as firms faced a renewed downturn in output and orders, S&P Global reported on Wednesday.

The South Africa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 48.8 in October from 50.2 in September, slipping below the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction.

Despite a strong improvement in supplier delivery times and a slight moderation in cost pressures, business activity weakened. The suppliers’ delivery times subindex reached its joint highest level since data collection began more than 14 years ago.

Firms cited reduced logistics issues and lower input demand as contributing factors.

However, the overall business environment deteriorated as new orders fell at the sharpest rate since March, with some companies attributing this to a reduction in customer spending power amid uncertain domestic conditions. Export sales also decreased, marking the fastest drop in nearly a year.

On a positive note, input cost inflation eased, with the survey’s purchase prices metric showing