The local economy in South Africa showed signs of improvement in March 2026, according to the latest data from the South African Reserve Bank.
The Bank’s composite leading business cycle indicator (BCI) recorded a 2.4% month-on-month increase, suggesting early momentum in underlying economic activity.
The Business Cycle Indicator is designed to provide forward-looking signals on the likely direction of real economic performance.
According to the report, gains in six of the seven component time series outweighed the single area of decline, supported partly by trends in South Africa’s major trading partner economies.
The strongest positive contributions came from an acceleration in the six-month smoothed growth rate of real M1 money supply, alongside a widening interest rate spread—both commonly watched indicators of financial conditions and economic momentum.