Trade conditions were stronger in December despite weaker sales volumes, with the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Sacci’s) moving above the threshold between expansion and contraction. Sacci’s seasonally adjusted trade activity index improved from 49 index points in November to 53 in December despite tight trade conditions, according to the chamber. New orders, sales volumes, supplier deliveries and employment indices were down in December. Sales volumes decreased from 59 index points in November to 45 in December, Sacci said on Wednesday. Business owners who participated in the survey cited political matters, maintenance of equipment, lack of household buying power, the weak economy, and a less efficient empowerment strategy as among the issues that negatively affected trade conditions. "December is usually a tight month for trade conditions due to less business-to-business trade (except for retail trade), but December 2016 was a noticeably better month than Decem...
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