Sentiment among South African manufacturers dropped sharply in November due to weak export sales, an influential survey showed. The monthly purchasing managers’ index, sponsored by South African bank Absa, showed sentiment had hit its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic.
South Africa’s exports have been sluggish since late 2024, but a key shift is that domestic demand has faltered after a brief recovery in the third quarter, Absa said in a statement. The survey results underscored the fragility of South Africa’s manufacturing sector, with demand and production declines overshadowing modest employment gains and easing cost pressures. Pretoria faces increased trade pressure after the US this year imposed a 30% tariff on South African imports over laws the Trump administration claims unjustly discriminate against white South Africans. Domestic consumption was hit by high unemployment, of around 30%, that rose in the first two quarters of this year.
Despite the downbeat mood among manufacturers, South Africa has had some recent positive economic news. Last month the continent’s largest economy secured its first credit rating upgrade since 2005, an improved assessment which — along with its removal from a global financial watchdog’s “gray list” of countries monitored for money laundering — looks set to cut the cost of borrowing.
