Trade Conditions Recovery Remains Elusive  

A sustainable recovery in trade conditions continued to elude the trade survey.  The exceptional improvement in November 2012 was followed by a more than proportionate decline in December 2012.  The slowdown by 15 index points to 42 in December 2012 followed on the increase of 5 points in November 2012.  The seasonally adjusted Trade Activity Index (TAI) decreased to 44 in December 2012 from 53 in November 2012.  The seasonally adjusted TAI was 3 index points higher than in December 2011.  The anticipated improvement in the TAI on the back of probable stronger retail activity over the Christmas season did not materialise.

 Business Confidence Ends the Year on a Low Note

The SACCI Business Confidence Index (BCI) for December 2012 was released today at the SACCI Offices in Rosebank, Johannesburg.

The BCI improved from 91.7 points in November 2012 to 93 in December 2012 but it is still not at a convincing level to investors.  The BCI was 6.1 points below its December 2011 level but remains better than the substantial 8.5 year-to-year difference in March 2012.

dUTCH

With wide-ranging changes taking place in South Africa, as well as internationally, business people find it increasingly difficult to operate in isolation and ensure survival. The chamber movement represented by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (formally known as South African Chamber of Business (SACOB)) and its almost 50 constituent chambers is a lifeline for business people.

The SACCI membership comprises approximately 20 000 small, medium and large enterprises across the breadth of the nation and across all economic sectors. Large enterprises are generally direct members of SACCI while small and medium enterprises are members through more than 50 local and regional chambers and 15 national associations. click here to get a full overview of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry.