Nedbank’s latest economic monitor spells bad news for the underlying economic environment.
The underlying operating environment for businesses across the country is unlikely to improve amid an escalation in the frequency and duration of power outages, with the economy stuck at stages 5 and stage 6 load shedding, says Nedbank.
Rolling blackouts continue to damage business practices across the country in major sectors. According to the South African Reserve Bank , when looking at the percentage of business hours lost over 2022 due to load shedding, thelosses of 11% and 12% of hoursThe bank said that with load-shedding expected to increase from 157 days in 2022 to 250 days in 2023, the loss in business hours is expected to rise, further stalling business and economic growth in the country.
On top of this, growth in the broad money supply, including notes, coins and other liquid assets, slowed to 8.9%, down from 10.8% in February and far below Nedbank’s expectation of a slight moderation to 10% and the consensus market forecast of a slowdown to 9.9%. Private sector credit extension also slowed to 7.2% in March, down from 8.3% the month before and weaker than Nedbank and general market expectations.
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