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South African money, notes and coins.
Business confidence in South Africa declined in March, slipping by 3.3 index points to 131.3.
The drop followed a modest recovery in February when the index rose to 134.6 after recording a level of 131.4 at the start of 2026.
Despite the mixed results in the first quarter, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (SACCI’s) Business Confidence Index averaged higher than the same period last year.
SACCI Economist Richard Downing says the ongoing geopolitical tensions, particularly the war in the Middle East, have added to the pressure by disrupting global markets and pushing oil prices higher.
“But we are expecting actually the index to actually take some more hits as we go forward because of the continuous sort of uncertainties about the crude oil price and the sort of supply of fuel from especially the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz sort of channel,” says Downing.
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