Household spending has weakened further, the South African Reserve Bank said on Thursday in its September Quarterly Bulletin.
The rate of decline in real final consumption expenditure by households accelerated from 4,8% in the first quarter of 2009 to 5,8% in the second quarter, the bank said.
Although declines were registered by all spending components, the decline was much more pronounced in household expenditure on durable goods, the bank said.
Real expenditure on durable goods fell further at an annualised rate of 18,8% in the second quarter of 2009 compared with the rate of decline of 15,2% recorded in the first quarter.
Lower spending on durable goods was seen particularly in the categories of personal transport equipment, medical equipment and furniture and household appliances.
The reserve bank said vehicle sales continued to be constrained by low consumer confidence ”and the fact that households were more averse to debt and lenders more averse to risk”.
Household’s real spending on semi-durable goods contracted at an annualised rate of 9,7% in the second quarter of 2009 — faster than the rate of 7,9% recorded in the first quarter.
The reserve bank said the most pronounced decline was in the real outlays on motorcar tyres, parts and accessories.
Following a decline of 12,2% in the first quarter of 2009, real household spending on non-durable goods fell at a ”more sedate pace” of 3,4% in the second quarter of 2009, the reserve bank said.
Decreased expenditure on non-durable goods was noticeable in all the subcategories with the exception of petroleum products.
The reserve bank said that on a year-on-year basis the price of fuel fell by more than 20% in the second quarter of 2009, giving impetus to household’s increased expenditure on fuel.
The reserve bank said growth in the real final consumption expenditure by households on services moved from an annualised growth rate of 6,5% in the first quarter of this year to a contraction of 2,7% in the second quarter.
The bank found that real household disposable income contracted for the fourth consecutive quarter.
After negative growth of 4,5% in the first quarter of 2009, real household disposable income declined at an annualised rate of 5,7% in the second quarter.
”Fewer hours worked and layoffs in specific industries could have contributed to the decline in real household disposable income,” the bank said.
The ratio of household debt to disposable income inched a little lower from 76,8% in the first quarter to 76,3% in the second quarter of 2009. — Sapa