South Africa’s manufacturing sector contracted for the second straight month in September as expected by economists, figures from the Bureau of Economic Research showed Thursday.
The seasonally adjusted Barclays Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, rose marginally to 49.0 in September, in line with expectations, from 48.9 in August. However, any reading below 50 suggests contraction in the sector.
At the same time, the non-seasonally adjusted index came in at 52.0 in September, up from 49.3 in the previous month. The index remained above 50.0 neutral mark for the first time in four months.
Business activity deteriorated further in September, with the index falling to 46.6 from 48.6 in the preceding month.
Meanwhile, new orders gained for the second month running in September. The corresponding index climbed to 51.9 from 50.6 in August.
The sub-index for employment increased notably to 49.5 in September from 45.2 a month earlier.
On the price front, input price inflation accelerated again in September. The respective index increased from 76.3 in the prior month to 77.6.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com