03.09.202507:44:54UTC+00South Africa Private Sector Sees Marginal Growth in August

The S&P Global South Africa Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) registered at 50.1 in August 2025, a slight decline from 50.3 in July, indicating only minimal expansion in the sector. For the first time in three months, there was an improvement in output, with growth modest yet marking the second-fastest uptick in the past two years. However, sales growth remained limited, impacted by a reduction in export volumes. Employment figures dipped slightly in August following two straight months of job growth. Conversely, purchasing activity increased for the fourth time in five months, achieving the most robust growth since October 2024, which contributed to a minor rise in inventory levels. In terms of pricing, input costs grew at the slowest rate within the ongoing ten-month trend of increases, attributed to a steady improvement in exchange rates and reduced wage pressures. The trend of output price inflation showed little change from the previous two survey periods. Lastly, businesses continued to display strong confidence in their future output, although the level of optimism saw a slight decrease.