South African consumers cheered up a bit in the third quarter, but remained pessimistic, a poll released on Thursday showed. The third-quarter consumer confidence index came in at -3 points, a rebound from -11 points in the second quarter, the survey done by Stellenbosch University’s Bureau for Economic Research sponsored by First National Bank found. The rise in consumer confidence during the third quarter could be attributed to households having more purchasing power in August thanks to a 9% drop in petrol prices and the rand strengthening to under R13.50/$, First National Bank senior economic analyst Jason Muscat said.
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