The Experian Business Debt Index fell from a reading of 1.438 in the first quarter of 2022 to 0.856. South Africa’s year-on-year GDP growth declined from a downwardly revised 2.7% to 0.5% over the same period, largely due to the intensification of rolling blackouts in June, which aggravated the slump in economic growth in the second quarter. The popular Eskom se Push app indicates South Africa has had 2,481 hours of rolling blackouts for the year to date, which equates to 103 days.
The PPI inflation rate rose well into double-digit levels, leaving the differential between PPI inflation and CPI at more than 8%, providing a nice cushion to the business community, which may have assisted in tempering the deterioration in financial conditions caused by higher interest rates.