Stats SA yesterday reported that retail sales volumes rose 0.4% m/m sa in April after falling by a revised 0.6% in March (previously: -0.7%). Despite the sharp escalation in load shedding in April, the monthly rise in sales volumes was broad-based across retailer types, suggesting that businesses are increasingly finding ways to mitigate power-related disruptions. That said, retail sales volumes were down 1.6% y/y in April (March: -1.5%), partly reflecting some base effects.
Looking ahead, weak job growth, muted real wage gains, higher debt service costs and low consumer sentiment are likely to keep consumer spending growth subdued.
Stats SA is due to publish the wholesale and motor trade sales data for April today and these are also worth watching for further insights on the performance of the domestic trade sector.
Eskom has said that load shedding will remain suspended during the day until further notice. In a brief system status update released yesterday, the utility said that a sustained improvement in available generation capacity would allow it to keep rotational power cuts suspended during the day, as it has over the last three days.
However, Eskom still expects to implement Stage 3 load shedding in the evenings from 16:00 to midnight until further notice. The utility did not provide details on generation capacity availability but its last detailed statement on Sunday showed an energy availability factor of 57% of installed capacity, with unplanned outages amounting to 16 115MW, while a further 3 766MW was unavailable due to planned maintenance.
