SA’s business confidence fell to a new record low in May, hurt by poor performances in sectors such as manufacturing and retail, a survey showed on Tuesday.The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) business confidence index (BCI) fell to 79.3 in May from 82.5 the previous month.The index had slipped to 79.6 in December after President Jacob Zuma changed finance ministers twice within a week."The BCI suffered a setback as the gradual recovery to April 2016 from a historic low level of 79.6 in December 2015 was undone in May 2016," Sacci said."Seasonally adjusted merchandise import volumes had the largest negative month-on-month effect in May 2016, followed by real retail sales and a weaker weighted rand exchange rate against the dollar, euro and pound."Sacci said possible downgrades to SA’s credit rating posed a risk to business confidence. It said the government should focus on measures that promote the production side of the economy.SA has dodged downgrades from S&...
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