The RMB/BER business confidence index in South Africa rose to 45 in Q4 2024, up from 38 in the previous three-month period. This was the third consecutive increase in business sentiment, which now puts the index at its highest since Q1 2022. Encouragingly, the rise in sentiment was driven by improved activity and better business conditions, supported by a stable electricity supply and political stability. All subsectors, except new vehicles, saw increases. The building contractors' sector surged by 10 points to 51 in the fourth quarter, while wholesale trade rose to 60 from 51. Manufacturing climbed to 36 from 28, and retail sector confidence improved to 54 from 45. “The further improvement in business confidence is very welcome and is testament to the impact of the gradual improvement on the reform front,” said RMB chief economist Isaah Mhlanga. source: Bureau for Economic Research (BER)

Business Confidence in South Africa increased to 45 points in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 38 points in the third quarter of 2024. Business Confidence in South Africa averaged 42.58 points from 1975 until 2024, reaching an all time high of 92.00 points in the third quarter of 1980 and a record low of 5.00 points in the second quarter of 2020. This page provides - South Africa Business Confidence - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. South Africa Business Confidence - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on November of 2024.

Business Confidence in South Africa increased to 45 points in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 38 points in the third quarter of 2024. Business Confidence in South Africa is expected to be 40.00 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the South Africa Business Confidence is projected to trend around 35.00 points in 2025 and 44.00 points in 2026, according to our econometric models.




Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2024-09-04 10:00 AM
Business Confidence
Q3 38 35 37
2024-11-20 10:00 AM
Business Confidence
Q4 45 38 36
2025-03-06 10:00 AM
Business Confidence
Q1 45 43


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Bankruptcies 117.00 128.00 Companies Sep 2024
Business Confidence 45.00 38.00 points Dec 2024
Capacity Utilization 77.90 78.40 percent Jun 2024
Car Registrations 34228.00 30218.00 Units Oct 2024
Changes in Inventories 9561.00 3762.00 ZAR Million Jun 2024
SACCI Business Confidence 110.20 111.50 points Sep 2024
Composite Leading Indicator 99.81 99.71 points Oct 2024
Corruption Index 41.00 43.00 Points Dec 2023
Corruption Rank 83.00 72.00 Dec 2023
Electricity Production 19879.00 20838.00 Gigawatt-hour Sep 2024
Gold Production YoY -3.70 -4.60 percent Sep 2024
Manufacturing Production YoY -0.80 -0.80 percent Sep 2024
Manufacturing Production MoM 0.00 -0.70 percent Sep 2024
Leading Business Cycle Indicator MoM -0.70 0.70 percent Aug 2024
Mining Production MoM 4.70 0.30 percent Sep 2024
Total New Vehicle Sales 47940.00 44080.00 Units Oct 2024

South Africa Business Confidence
In South Africa, the BER Business Confidence Index covers 1,400 business people in the building sector, 1,400 in the trade sector and 1,000 in manufacturing. The survey assesses the level of optimism that senior executives in the companies have about current and expected developments regarding sales, orders, employment, inventories and selling prices. The index varies on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 indicates an extreme lack of confidence, 50 neutrality and 100 extreme confidence.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
45.00 38.00 92.00 5.00 1975 - 2024 points Quarterly


News Stream
South Africa Business Sentiment Hits Near 3-Year High
The RMB/BER business confidence index in South Africa rose to 45 in Q4 2024, up from 38 in the previous three-month period. This was the third consecutive increase in business sentiment, which now puts the index at its highest since Q1 2022. Encouragingly, the rise in sentiment was driven by improved activity and better business conditions, supported by a stable electricity supply and political stability. All subsectors, except new vehicles, saw increases. The building contractors' sector surged by 10 points to 51 in the fourth quarter, while wholesale trade rose to 60 from 51. Manufacturing climbed to 36 from 28, and retail sector confidence improved to 54 from 45. “The further improvement in business confidence is very welcome and is testament to the impact of the gradual improvement on the reform front,” said RMB chief economist Isaah Mhlanga.
2024-11-20
South Africa Business Sentiment Improving
The RMB/BER business confidence index in South Africa rose to 38 in Q3 2024, the highest since Q4 2022, from 35 in the previous period. The latest reading suggests pessimism among businesses eased further, following the formation of the new coalition government and stable electricity supply.“This is the first business sentiment survey in South Africa following the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) and reflects cautious optimism about improving business conditions,” said RMB. “Although respondents still noted constraints, especially weak demand, they were less negative about current conditions and, encouragingly, were more upbeat about business conditions going forward.”, it added. Among the five sectors that comprise the index, wholesalers and building contractors saw a decline in confidence but are still at relatively high levels. Manufacturing remained unchanged, and retailers and new vehicle dealers saw an improvement in confidence.
2024-09-04
South Africa Business Sentiment Hits Over 1-Year High
The RMB/BER business confidence index in South Africa increased to 35 in Q2 2024, the highest in over a year, from 30 in the prior quarter. This suggests a slight reduction in pessimism among businesses, following two consecutive quarters of declines, mainly attributed to the suspension of load shedding for a full two months. Sentiment improved for wholesalers (53 vs 37 in Q1); constructors (47 vs 42); retailers (39 vs 34) and manufacturers (28 vs 21). New vehicle dealers, however, turned more pessimistic (10 vs 16), mainly due to the prevailing high borrowing costs and subdued consumer demand. “However, we must wait and see the implications on policy and the business operating environment of coalition government arrangements, as well as the sustainability of the improvement in the energy availability factor (EAF) observed over the past two months, before we can draw any link to the BCI in future,” the economists said.
2024-06-05