From The New Era

The IJG Business Climate Monitor for December 2014 hit its third consecutive all-time high, as it expanded from 165.9 points to 166.6 points. The expansion in the index in the third quarter of 2014 was largely driven by a collapsing oil price and this trend continued in December.

During that month, the oil price fell by over 18 percent from U$71 to U$58 per barrel. This reflects a year-on-year decline of 46 percent, from U$108 per barrel in December 2013.

According to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), which produces the Business Climate Monitor, the falling oil price caused the oil sub-index component of the overall index to spike from 88.3 in November to 103.1 in December.

“This spike largely underpins the overall move in the index, which would have been otherwise lower due to the remainder of indicators being flat or negative for the month. Notable in this regard were company registrations, down from 1 781 to 1,333 on account of seasonal factors; vehicle sales, down from 1 992 to 1 831 also due to seasonal factors and base effects; and the USD-ZAR exchange rate, down from 11.06 to 11.57 on account of temporary capital outflows from South Africa,” states the report.

Read more at The New Era