December’s business cycle leading indicator was 104.6 points, slightly down from November’s 105.2 points, the Reserve Bank reported on Tuesday morning.The leading indicator foreshadows the business cycle by six months. Despite the small dip in December, the average for the fourth quarter of 2017 was a huge improvement on prior quarters. The index fell below 100 points in 2016 and 2015.Investec Bank economist Annabel Bishop said in a note e-mailed on Tuesday that the 105.2-point average for the December quarter pointed to SA’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter of 2018 beating 2%."The positive relationship between business confidence, fixed investment and GDP growth means that SA is likely to experience faster economic growth in 2018 than in 2017," Bishop said."President Cyril Ramaphosa recognises this relationship, and an investment summit is consequently planned to take place within the next three months to interact with local and foreign investors on key iss...
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