Business confidence hits 3-year low

Johannesburg - South Africa’s business confidence index dropped to a three-year low of 94.3 in April from 95.7 in March, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) said on Thursday, adding high household debt is a growing concern in an unstable business environment.

“The current trend in the BCI (business confidence index) that started in April 2011 can be ascribed to a deterioration in both the global and domestic business climates,” Sacci said in a statement.

“With high and rising unemployment and available household resources under stress, the expectation that household consumption expenditure should spark the economic recovery grows weaker,” it said.