Oct 5 (Reuters) – South Africa’s private sector activity contracted in September as power outages widened, leading to a sharp drop in output and new orders, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The S&P Global South Africa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.2 in August from 51.7 in September. A reading below 50 indicates an active contraction.
Both production and sales prices are the most recorded in 2022.
“Output and new business have fallen sharply since last December,” said David Owen, chief economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
However, Owen said there were signs that inflation was slowing on the back of lower commodity prices.
Power cuts at South Africa’s state utility Eskom have hit a record this year as inefficient coal-fired power stations suffer frequent outages.
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Reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Alexander Winning; Editing by Susan Fenton
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