Johannesburg - The South African Reserve Bank's monthly economic indicator nudged lower in September, falling by 0.3% month-on-month compared with a 2.1% drop in August, it said on Tuesday.
The indicator, which collates data such as business confidence, job advertisements and the volume of manufacturing orders to gauge the economic outlook, has been weak for most of 2011, falling for three straight months since July.
September saw only a slight decrease as half of the 10 components used were positive. However, the negative indicators
had greater weightings and were more severe.
The bank said the indicator pointing to major trading partners again helped to drag down the index. All but three of those partners are European countries, whose economic outlook is dire.
New passenger vehicles sold during September, when the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers recorded a four-year high in new vehicle sales, contributed the largest positive factor, followed by the JSE All Share index [JSE:J203]
The indicator, which collates data such as business confidence, job advertisements and the volume of manufacturing orders to gauge the economic outlook, has been weak for most of 2011, falling for three straight months since July.
September saw only a slight decrease as half of the 10 components used were positive. However, the negative indicators
had greater weightings and were more severe.
The bank said the indicator pointing to major trading partners again helped to drag down the index. All but three of those partners are European countries, whose economic outlook is dire.
New passenger vehicles sold during September, when the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers recorded a four-year high in new vehicle sales, contributed the largest positive factor, followed by the JSE All Share index [JSE:J203]