SA’s business confidence up at 89.2 in September

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa's business confidence index nudged up 0.2 points to 89.2 in September, cheered by a surprise jump in new car sales in the month, a survey by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) showed on Tuesday.

However SACCI voiced concern about the still-low level of confidence in Africa's most advanced economy, saying labour disruptions in the first half of the year impacted various financial indicators.

A five month long strike in the mining sector impacted other industries such as manufacturing and dragged South Africa's economy to a 0.6 percent contraction in the first quarter.

"Although it appears that waning business confidence has been checked, business confidence remains at an undesirably low level," SACCI head Neren Rau said at a press conference.

Businesses are also concerned about above-inflation wage increases that are not matched by productivity levels.

"Resistance to a performance-based system and compensation is concerning and government needs to take a strong stance," Rau added.