All time low for economic transactions in April
13 May 2020
The BankservAfrica Economic Transaction Index (BETI) for April 2020 recorded the biggest decline in its history across monthly, quarterly and annual levels.
"The annual rate of decline was 13.9% in April and on a quarterly basis, this was -15.2%," says Shergeran Naidoo, Head of Stakeholder Engagement: BankservAfrica. "Between April and March, the BETI dropped by 12.3% - the biggest monthly decline on record."
The BETI is the quickest and broadest monthly indicator of economic activity in the local South African economy. With data going back to January 2002, the BETI is an insightful tool that captures interbank electronic payment transactions under R5 million to provide almost immediate feedback on the economic performance of most sectors.
"The South African economy shrank at the fastest rate on record in April while March also recorded a significant decline. The latest data provides a clear and broad indication of an economic collapse due to the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent nationwide lockdown," says Mike Schüssler, Chief Economist at economists.co.za.