South Africa's private sector expanded for a second straight month in July, though at a slightly slower pace as weaker employment growth and renewed stock drawdowns offset a return to output growth, a business survey showed on Wednesday.
The S&P Global South Africa Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 50.3 in July from 50.5 in June, a survey by S&P Global showed.
The 50-mark separates growth from contraction.
Employment growth slowed sharply to a six-month low despite a first increase in backlogs of work since September. Supply chains remained stretched, with vendor delivery times lengthening for a seventh month, though the deterioration was the softest since February.
New orders contracted for a third consecutive month as cautious consumer spending, protests and clients switching to cheaper imports weighed on sales. Export demand provided some support, rising for a second straight month, though less strongly than in June.
