South African manufacturing conditions deteriorated further in August with factory activity and new sales orders recording sharp declines.
The seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell from 46.8 in July to 45.8 in August, marking its third consecutive month below the neutral 50-point level.
According to the survey data, the seasonally adjusted business activity index fell from 48.8 in July to 40.2 in August.
The seasonally adjusted new sales orders index also declined from 44.1 to 40.3.
Purchasing commitments remained below the neutral level despite increasing from 44.8 in July to 46.1 in August. The seasonally adjusted inventories index was largely unchanged, edging up from 43.2 to 43.6.
Employment conditions remained under pressure although the seasonally adjusted employment index improved from 42.2 to 46.2.
Manufacturers were more positive about the longer-term outlook. The index tracking expected business conditions in six months rose from 49.3 to 54.7, moving above the neutral 50-point mark.
However, the business activity, new sales orders, purchasing commitments, inventories and employment indices all remained in contractionary territory during August.
