Business Confidence Index in South Africa

The SACCI Business Confidence Index (BCI) measures the business climate in South Africa. It is a composite index (2020 base = 100) summarising business confidence from thirteen sub-indices of economic activity; a level above 100 signals a more favourable environment than the base year, and it is one of the figures watched by the market.

SACCI combines thirteen sub-indices (real and effective exchange rate, commodity prices, real exports and imports, retail sales, new vehicle sales, vehicle registrations, construction, energy, manufacturing output, share prices, financing and inflation), normalises them to the 2020 = 100 base and aggregates them into a single monthly business-climate index.

It reflects the mood of business. A rise points to better investment and activity expectations (positive for growth and the rand); a fall suggests business caution. It is a medium-impact figure for the rand and SARB rates.

It is a soft confidence indicator, sensitive to one-off shocks and expectations, and can diverge from hard activity data. SACCI is a private body and the release date is not fixed (usually mid-month of the following month).