# The Bureau for Economic Research and Rand Merchant Bank’s Business Confidence Index fell eight points to 39 in the second quarter. New vehicle dealers, wholesalers, retailers and building contractors recorded the sharpest decline. Manufacturing was the only sector to show improvement, albeit by one point, but it is still suppressed due to demand weakness. RMB chief economist Isaah Mhlanga says the decline is disappointing, but not unexpected given the severe deterioration in the global macro-economic backdrop, rather than any major failure in South Africa’s domestic fundamentals.
Business confidence slumps as rising fuel prices and Middle East conflict begin to bite