Absa PMI rises to 52.5 in Feb, suggests improvement in domestic manufacturing

The seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose by a further 1.6 points to 52.5 in February, following a 4.2-point rise in January – lifting the PMI to its highest level since June 2016. “This corresponds with the improvements observed in a number of South Africa’s key trading partner countries of late, most notably China and Europe,” BNP Paribas Securities South Africa economist Jeffrey Schultz said on Wednesday.