{"id":868524,"date":"2026-08-03T12:05:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T10:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=868524"},"modified":"2026-08-03T12:05:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T10:05:20","slug":"worst-news-in-7-months-for-businesses-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/868524\/worst-news-in-7-months-for-businesses-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Worst news in 7 months for businesses in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A gauge measuring South African manufacturer sentiment slumped to the lowest level in seven months over concerns that escalating hostilities in the Middle East could impact demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Absa’s Purchasing Managers\u2019 Index, compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research, remained in contractionary territory for a second month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It fell to 46.8 in July from 47.3 a month earlier, the Johannesburg-based lender said in an emailed statement on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey was conducted in July, when the conflict between the US and Iran reignited after a brief respite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The war expanded to new maritime chokepoints in the Red Sea, while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade artery through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass, has become increasingly constrained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conflict has led to wild swings in the oil price. It is currently trading above $84 a barrel from about $72 a barrel at the start of last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe renewed escalation of tensions in the Middle East, together with higher oil prices following June\u2019s lows, likely contributed to the deterioration in sentiment,\u201d the lender said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, the sharp decline also suggests that manufacturers remain cautious about the durability of the recent improvement in activity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gauge tracking expected business conditions in six months\u2019 time declined to 49.3 in July from 56.6 the previous month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New sales orders rose to 44.1, from 40.6, reflecting improved demand locally, while business activity increased for a second straight month to 48.8 from 45.6, boosted by an uptick in production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDomestic demand and production continued to recover, while easing cost pressures offered further relief,\u201d Absa said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, subdued confidence, weak export demand and continued inventory drawdowns suggest manufacturers remain cautious about the sustainability of the recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purchasing price gauge moderated in July, suggesting that the worst of the oil price shock has passed, barring any further upsurge in global energy costs, though, input costs remain elevated relative to before the war, the lender said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, the increase in diesel prices later this week will put renewed pressure on costs,\u201d it said. \u201cIf recent rand weakness is sustained, that would also put upward pressure on imported goods costs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Absa Purchasing Managers Index<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An index of manufacturer sentiment in South Africa has hit a seven-month low, following renewed tensions in the Middle East.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":802659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"failed","_sma_x_autopost_error":"Instagram publishing failed: Instagram returned HTTP 400: Media ID is not available","_sma_x_post_id":"2084219132958957625","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2165377210949345","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[29,26023,26024],"class_list":["post-868524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-absa","tag-purchasing-managers-index","tag-u-s-iran-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868524"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":868530,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868524\/revisions\/868530"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/802659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}