Confidence among SA consumers deteriorated in the first quarter, reaching its lowest level since the middle of 2021 when the country was grappling with the Delta variant and lockdowns, and as Russia’s war with Ukraine triggered new concerns about inflation and the outlook for growth.

An index by FNB and the Bureau for Economic Research (FNB/BER) at the University of Stellenbosch declined to -13 from -9 in the last three months of 2021, a worsening of sentiment that has come despite a stabilisation in Covid-19 cases and a further opening of the economy...