Johannesburg - South Africa's business confidence index recovered from a 22-year trough in October, a survey showed on Wednesday, after market trends positively influenced the immediate short-term business climate.
The improvement in the Business Confidence Index (BCI) in October was mainly influenced by retail sales volumes, merchandise export volumes and share prices, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) said in a statement.
The BCI rose to 88.4 from 81.6 in September, the business body said.
"Developments within local and global financial markets and economies caused some important economic and market trends to positively influence the immediate short-term business outlook and climate in October," Sacci said.
However, real economic as well as financial circumstances were less conducive to business confidence in October 2015 than in the similar month in 2014, Sacci said, citing the uncertainty with international capital flows hinging on interest rate decisions in the United States, the world's biggest economy.
The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged in September and left the door open for a possible hike in December, which remains an issue for global capital flows especially for emerging market economies with wide current account deficits.