S.African consumer confidence drops, but signals strong festive season

(Reuters) - South Africa's consumer confidence slipped one point in the fourth quarter, although retail sales during the festive season are still expected to be their best levels last seen in 2019, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The consumer confidence index (CCI), sponsored by First National Bank (FNB) and compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER), edged down to minus 6 points in the reported period from minus 5 a quarter ago.

A marked depreciation in the rand exchange rate along with higher petrol prices and trade uncertainties following the re-election of Donald Trump as U.S. president affected consumer confidence in the quarter.

Still, a rise in consumer spending due to lower inflation and interest rate cuts points to a festive season as strong as pre-pandemic levels.

"A string of favorable developments has seen consumer confidence riding much higher since the second quarter of 2024, including the formation of a government of national unity, the termination of load-shedding, a substantial deceleration in inflation, two interest rate cuts and the implementation of the two-pot retirement system," said FNB Chief Economist Mamello Matikinca-Ngwenya.

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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