Q3 consumer confidence recovers from a 14-1/2 year low

South Africa's consumer confidence index recovered in the third quarter of the year, after hitting its lowest in 14-1/2 years in the first six months of 2015, as lower fuel prices and a recent respite in load-shedding improved sentiment.

The index registered -5 in the third quarter from -15 in the second quarter, the First National Bank (FNB) and the Bureau for Economic Research who compiled the report said.

"The rebound in consumer sentiment in 3Q 2015 can probably be ascribed to, among other things, the roughly R1,20 per litre drop in petrol and paraffin prices since July and the recent respite in load-shedding," said Sizwe Nxedlana, chief economist at First National Bank.

Earlier this year, South Africa suffered from almost daily blackouts as state-owned power utility Eskom struggled to meet demand - a key reason behind the economy's contraction in the second quarter.

There has been some relief in recent weeks. On Sept. 14, Eskom imposed rolling power cuts for the first time in five weeks, and has not had to resort to them since then.

However the outlook for consumer confidence remains low, Nxedlana said, with the recent drop in employment in the drought-stricken agriculture sector, while further large-scale job losses on the cards in South Africa's troubled mining sector weighed down sentiment.

- Reuters