South Africa consumer confidence recovers in fourth quarter

First National Bank Alaska

08/12/2022 08:00

Dec 8 (Reuters) - South Africa's consumer confidence
improved in the fourth quarter, a survey released on Thursday
showed, although consumer sentiment remained "depressed" largely
due to soaring inflation and large interest rate hikes.
    The consumer confidence index (CCI), sponsored by the First
National Bank (FNB) and compiled by the Bureau for Economic
Research (BER), improved to minus 8 points from minus 20 points
in the third quarter.
    The recovery was attributed to a rebound in consumers'
willingness to spend, relative to the previous two quarters in
2022.
    "The significant improvement in consumer sentiment is
positive news for the economy and suggests that household
consumption expenditure is holding up - or even expanding
slightly - despite difficult economic conditions," said Mamello
Matikinca-Ngwenya, chief economist at FNB.
    An upwards trend in employment growth and substantially
lower petrol prices since the last quarter have bolstered
consumer sentiment in the run-up to the festive season,
Matikinca-Ngwenya added.
    While the confidence levels of high- and middle-income
households improved over the quarter, that of low-income
households has deteriorated, the survey showed.
    South Africa's headline consumer inflation quickened to 7.6%
year-on-year in October, from 7.5% in September, data from
Statistics South Africa showed last month.
 (Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane
Venkatraman)
 ((Prerna.Bedi@thomsonreuters.com;))