JOHANNESBURG Aug 7 (Reuters) – South Africa’s business
confidence fell to its lowest in twelve years in July as
sentiment continues to be hammered by the weak global and
domestic economic environments, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The Business Confidence Index (BCI) dropped four points to
90.9 in July after posting a recovery in June, the South African
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) said.
“The latest move in the BCI indicates that business
confidence remains highly fragile and unpredictable,” it said.
SACCI said the sub-indices in the real economy were largely
negative on a month-on-month basis and the business grouping was
concerned about the slowdown of global economic growth and lower
growth forecasts for South Africa.
The central bank cut its growth forecast for 2012 to 2.7
percent from 2.9 percent last month and the finance minister has
said growth will likely come in below 2.7 percent.
(Reporting by Xola Potelwa; Editing by Ed Stoddard)
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