The South Africa consumer confidence index dropped sharply to 7 in the third quarter of 2018 from 22 in the previous period. It is the weakest reading in consumer morale since the fourth quarter 2017 when the index was at -8, as confidence deteriorated across all income groups driven by adverse economic developments including a recession in the first half of the year, increasing unemployment, a rise in personal income taxes and VAT, currency depreciation and higher fuel prices. Consumer Confidence in South Africa averaged 1.46 Index Points from 1982 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 26 Index Points in the first quarter of 2018 and a record low of -33 Index Points in the second quarter of 1985.
Consumer Confidence in South Africa is expected to be 15.00 Index Points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Consumer Confidence in South Africa to stand at 18.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the South Africa Consumer Confidence is projected to trend around 16.00 Index Points in 2020, according to our econometric models.