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Johannesburg - BankservAfrica's Economic Transaction Index (Beti) showed encouraging signs of the economy clawing back in May after three quarters of stagnation, the electronic payment transaction company said on Thursday.
While the BETI figures for May were not as strong as those for April, they still revealed growth of 2.9% year-on-year.
BankservAfrica's regulated products CEO Brad Gillis, said the negative sentiment in the South African economy "may not be completely justified".
Although the actual index number for the May Beti was a little down from April, it was the second highest on record.
"This confirms that economic activity may have turned the corner after about three quarters of stagnation," he said.
Between April and May, the Beti decreased by 0.2%.
Economists.co.za chief economist Mike Schussler, said April was the strongest month in a long time, as the shift in public holidays had made it a stronger-than-normal month.
"On the other hand, the May Beti seems more subdued, but it is clear that April was an exceptionally strong month, which, together with February transaction data, indicated a return to stronger growth in the economy," he said.
However, the May Beti did not confirm that South Africa was very likely to have higher economic growth in the second quarter of 2013, than the first quarter.
"We saw no major strikes in May, and that has definitely played a role in relatively strong figures. The economy is still on its feet, but the pace is closer to a stroll than that of a 100m race...", Schussler said.
He expected growth of around 3% in the second quarter of 2013.
"The South African economy has climbed back from stagnation levels that many still think the economy is in. Stagnation was last year's battle... we are convinced that economic activity is picking up..." Schussler said.
The actual number of economic transactions in the May Beti was 81.7 million, which was 3.5% higher than during May 2012.
The actual total monetary value of the transactions that the Beti reflects was over R634.2bn just for the month of May 2013.
The total value of transactions in May 2013 was therefore up 11.8% in nominal terms over May 2012.
