According to Sacci, The rebased South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry Business Confidence Index (BCI) measured 95.1 in June, up 3.3 index points from the 91.8 index points reported in May.
Sacci, which released its BCI results on Wednesday, noted that the June improvement recaptured some of the 3.7 index points lost in May.
However, notwithstanding the improvement, the Sacci BCI was 2.8 index points below the BCI level of June 2015.
“It appears that the pace of the decline in business confidence has slowed, though the BCI remained at relatively subdued levels,” said Sacci economist Richard Downing.
There were fewer setbacks in the real businessenvironment in June, with two of the seven subindices declining month-on-month compared with four declining subindices in May.
The yearly BCI comparison suggested an easier business climate in the real economy in June 2016, compared with June 2015, although the financial circumstances remained tight.
“The impact of the Brexit decision on the world economy led early commentators to speculate, which added to economic uncertainty. South African trade agreements already exist with the EU and Britain and, although it can be contractually reviewed, the potential economic impact on South Africa will not be felt in the foreseeable future,” noted Downing.
“South Africa will continue to benefit from retaining Britain and the EU as important trading and investment partners,” Downing concluded.
