2017.05.2306:08:00UTC+00South Africa Leading Index Falls In March

South Africa's leading index weakened in March, after strengthening in the previous seven months, figures from the South African Reserve Bank showed Tuesday.

The composite leading indicator dropped to 97.6 in March from 98.0 in February. In January, the score was 96.9.

On an annual basis, the index rose at a slower pace of 5.9 percent in March, following a 6.4 percent rise in the prior month.

Out of the nine components, four contributed negatively to the headline index in April, while five increased.

The largest negative contributions in March came from a decrease in the South African produced export commodity price index, and a deceleration in the six-month smoothed growth rate in the real M1 money supply.

The coincident index that reflects the current economic activity climbed to 118.1 in February from 177.7 in January. At the same time, the lagging index decreased to 96.7 from 97.2.

Yearly, the coincident index went up 0.4 percent in February, while the lagging index slid by 1.5 percent.