African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) has revealed a ten year low in the South Africa business confidence.
South Africa Business Confidence Index (BCI) fell from 94.3 in April to 92.3 in May. BCI is a strong gauge of the confidence levels of businesses in current economic conditions.

SACCI noted that the BCI’s highest level was 122.1 in December 2006, while its most recent low was 93.1 in March 2009.

SACCI said the continuous slide in the business confidence index is a conspicuous deterioration in the business mood.

The annual year in year comparison showed that only three of the thirteen sub-indices, namely household spending (retail and vehicles), government spending, and lower real interest rates improved in May.

SACCI CEO, Neren Rau expressed concern on the weakening and unstable economic circumstances both abroad and domestically, saying, it posed a serious challenge to the business environment and business confidence in South Africa.
Rau said “The lack of alignment across economic policy positions locally is cause for concern as business seeks policy stability in an increasingly perplexing domestic economy.”

“Local business environments continue to be plagued by challenges” SACCI said in a statement.