South Africa’s seasonally adjusted purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 55.1 in March from a two-year high of 57.9 in February as business activity and new sales orders decline.

According to Reuters report,  Kagiso Asset Management announced, Monday, that the business activity index made the largest negative contribution, giving up 7.4 points to 57.8 while new sales orders were down 5.1 points at 59.7.

A senior economist at the Bureau of Economic Research quipped that “the forward-looking indicators of the PMI also pointed to a somewhat less optimistic outlook.”

Despite recent signs of a gradual economic recovery, The PMI, a key indices to manufacturing activity, depict the struggles of South Africa’s second-largest contributor to its GDP.