Factory managers in South Africa are the most pessimistic they’ve been about the outlook for business conditions since the strictest months of a Covid-19 lockdown three years ago, amid continuing power cuts and congestion at the nation’s ports.

An index tracking expected business conditions in six months time fell to 41 in November, signaling that purchasing managers expect business conditions to deteriorate, according to Absa Group Ltd.’s Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research. The index stood at 43.4 in October.