South African Consumer Confidence Sinks to 2017 Low 

(Bloomberg) -- South African consumer confidence dropped to the lowest level since Cyril Ramaphosa became president as the outlook for the economy dimmed.

The consumer-confidence index fell to -7 in the third quarter from 5 in the previous three-month period, FirstRand Ltd.’s First National Bank said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. That’s the weakest level since the fourth quarter of 2017, when uncertainty over who would take over from Jacob Zuma as leader of the ruling African National Congress weighed on sentiment.

With household consumption spending that makes up about 60% of gross domestic product, the drop in confidence could further weigh on an economy that’s forecast to expand only 0.5% this year. Slow growth is adding to the state’s fiscal woes, as set out in the medium-term budget statement last week, as revenue falls short of estimates and government debt balloons.

“A confluence of adverse economic developments in all likelihood contributed to the slump in consumer sentiment,” said FNB economist Siphamandla Mkhwanazi. This included rapidly rising unemployment, declining per-capita incomes, an upsurge in attacks against foreigners in South Africa, the financial woes of the country’s state-owned power utility, and disappointment that the central bank didn’t cut interest rates to help indebted consumers, he said.

High-income consumers who earn more than 14,000 rand ($950) a month were the most pessimistic as they became increasingly concerned about the outlook for their own household finances, which are further being strained by high taxes, Mkhwanazi said. On the contrary, low-income earners expected an improvement.

“Sales of new vehicles, jewelry, furniture and household appliances and other expensive luxuries are therefore expected to continue to perform poorly, while the pricing power of retailers in general will likely remain constrained during the festive season,” he said.

The reading was below the long-run average of 2 since 1994, said FNB, which compiles the data with the Bureau for Economic Research.

To contact the reporter on this story: Vernon Wessels in Johannesburg at vwessels@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stefania Bianchi at sbianchi10@bloomberg.net, Paul Richardson, Rene Vollgraaff

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