Absa PMI slides to 47.3 as South African factories see orders dry up despite easing costs

The seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 47.3 points in June 2026, down from 50.8 in May, Bizcommunity reports - readings below 50 signal deteriorating business conditions for manufacturers.

The PMI's purchasing price index declined sharply by 13.5 points to 71.3 in June, per the survey compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research. Respondents said clients were postponing purchases in anticipation of lower prices, contributing to a drop in new sales orders.

The June survey was conducted after the US and Iran agreed an interim deal to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which brought down global energy prices; fuel price cuts followed in South Africa on 1 July 2026. "A sharp fall in the PMI component on purchasing prices suggests that April and May may have marked the peak of price pressures," Absa noted.

Nationwide anti-migrant protests on 30 June 2026 dampened respondents' optimism about future business conditions.

Average business activity for Q2 2026 was broadly unchanged from Q1, when official manufacturing production contracted - pointing to a second consecutive quarter of pressure on output.

Why it matters locally: a contracting manufacturing sector squeezes capex budgets, pushing security providers to pitch guarding and surveillance as loss-prevention investments rather than discretionary spend.

Source: Bizcommunity, 2 July 2026 - bizcommunity.com