South African Leading Index Rises In October

(RTTNews) - South Africa's composite leading index improved in October after a slight fall in the previous month, survey data from the South African Reserve Bank showed on Wednesday.

The composite leading index rose 0.4 percent month-on-month to 116.7 in October from 116.3 in September.

Compared to a year ago, the index climbed 2.2 percent, though slower than the 3.0 percent increase in the prior month.

In October, six of the ten available component time series outweighed decreases in the other four components, the survey said.

The largest positive contributors were an increase in South Africa's US-dollar denominated export commodity price index and an improvement in the RMB/BER Business Confidence Index.

Data showed that the coincident index rose slightly to 96.0 in September from 95.9 in the prior month.

The lagging indicator increased to 107.9 in September from 107.0 in the previous month.