City Press reports that the index declined seven points to 48 in the second quarter of this year and then fell by a further nine points to just 39 in the third quarter. The BER says that the reading of 39 indicates that six out of ten respondents are unsatisfied with prevailing business conditions.
It says that business confidence declined in the new vehicle trade, manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors.
The Mail & Guardian says that the drop in confidence and weaker underlying developments in all sectors suggested that any upturn in the South African economy had lost some steam.
It quotes the BER as saying that South Africa's business cycle upswing had mainly been driven by favourable terms of trade and strong real wage gains.
