The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), fell to 47.7 points in December from 49.0 points in November, keeping the index in contraction through the final quarter of 2025, and marking its weakest level in 11 months. The PMI is an index that measures demand from purchasing managers in the economy. A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion in activity, while a reading below 50 signals contraction.

Bheki Mahlobo, economics and policy editor at The Common Sense, said: “The December reading signals an economy short of investment confidence, but rate cuts and softer imported inflation, helped by lower oil prices and a stronger rand, could marginally lift sentiment into 2026.”