Subscribe & Follow
Trending
Advertise your job vacancies
Jobs
- Laboratory Technician Cape Town
- Senior Bookkeeper - Half Day Ga-Rankuwa
- Receptionist Blackheath
- Continuous Improvement Intern Cape Town
- Internal Sales Support - Printed Cartons Johannesburg
- Senior 3D Designer Cape Town
- Industrial Designer Cape Town
- Project Manager Cape Town
- Logistics Coordinator Cape Town
- Mechanical Maintenance Technician Babelegi
SA factory activity expands at faster pace in May - Absa PMI
South African manufacturing activity expanded at a faster pace in May, as new sales orders recovered following the floods in the KwaZulu-Natal province in April, a survey showed on Wednesday, 1 June.
Source: Reuters/Mike Hutchings/File Photo
The seasonally-adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 54.8 points in May from 50.7 points in April, remaining above the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction.
Absa said in a statement that domestic demand normalised and export sales returned to positive terrain following the floods in KwaZulu-Natal, which killed more than 400 people, causing significant damage to infrastructure and port operations in Durban.
But Absa warned that the April-May average for the business activity index is well below 50 points and could mean that the actual manufacturing output may record a quarterly contraction in the second quarter.
"Despite the solid rebound in demand, business activity was stuck just below the neutral 50-point mark in May. This could be due to continued load-shedding and industrial action affecting output, but not necessarily weighing on demand," Absa said.
Eskom continues to regularly implement scheduled power cuts as it struggles with breakdowns at its generation units.
Source: Reuters
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world's largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day.
Go to: https://www.reuters.com/About Bhargav Acharya
Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-MtamboRelated
Absa PMI shows Q3 manufacturing off to rocky start 1 Aug 2023 South African factory activity contracts for 4th straight month - Absa PMI 2 Jun 2023 South African manufacturing output dips slightly in March 11 May 2023 KZN accelerator connects big retailers with promising clothing and textile SMEs 9 May 2023 SA manufacturing output declines 5.2% in February 12 Apr 2023
