South Africa Manufacturing PMI Snaps Nines Months of Contraction

(Bloomberg) -- A gauge measuring South Africa’s manufacturing industry expanded for the first time in nine months in December as new-sales and export orders improved.

Absa Group Ltd.’s Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by the Stellenbosch-based Bureau for Economic Research, rose to 50.7 from 49.5 in November, the Johannesburg-based lender said in an emailed statement Wednesday. The reading breached the neutral 50-point mark for the first time since February last year.

Key Insights

• The index measuring new-sales orders rose for a second consecutive month in December, reaching 54.3.
• It is the first time since July that survey respondents expect business conditions to improve in six months’ time, with the index tracking expectations rising to 51.4.
• The lender warned that rolling blackouts, known locally as load-shedding, from mid-January could hamper a potential recovery in the sector.

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