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Appointment of a new BER political analyst The Bureau for Economic Research (BER) at Stellenbosch University is delighted to announce that highly respected political journalist Mrs Natasha Marrian has been appointed as its first ever in-house political analyst. She will assume her duties on 1 January 2026.
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RESEARCH NOTE: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended that South Africa adopt fiscal rules, and the National Treasury has committed to a process of consultations on fiscal rules, and to release a discussion by the end of March 2025. This research note explores what fiscal rules are and whether they could improve South Africa’s fiscal sustainability and fiscal credibility. It highlights guiding principles and considerations for fiscal rule design and outlines a possible fiscal rule to initially stabilise debt followed by a debt reduction phase.
20.97/litre
20.18/litre
3.6% y-o-y
2.9%
2.1% y-o-y
10.25 %
2.9% y-o-y
0.2% y-o-y
A rise in consumer confidence suggests retail tills will jingle loudly this festive season, as the FNB/BER Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) rebounded to -9 index points in the fourth quarter, after falling from -10 to -13 in the third quarter of 2025.
Confidence in the Other Services sector jumped by 23 points to 69 in 2025Q4, making it only the second time this metric is above 65 since 2008Q3, and marking a post-GFC2 record. This rise is driven by significant gains in business volumes, conditions, and profitability, all of which are now well above long-term averages. Concurrently, average selling price inflation fell in line with lower inflation in South Africa.
The release calendar will be updated each quarter. Please note that these dates may change.
Wednesday
3 December 2025
RMB/BER Business Confidence Index (BCI)
Monday
8 December 2025
FNB/BER Building Confidence Index
Friday
5 December 2025
Absa Manufacturing Survey
Tuesday
9 December 2025
FNB/BER Consumer Confidence Index (CCI)
Monday
15 December 2025
Other Services Survey
Thursday
11 December 2025
Retail Survey
Tuesday
6 January 2026
FNB/BER Civil Confidence Index
Friday
12 December 2025
Inflation Expectations Survey
Monday
12 January 2026
Building Cost Report (BCIS)
The first working day of each month
Absa PMI
The first working day of each month
Update
The first week of each month
Trends
Every Friday (Enhanced and Free versions)
BER Weekly
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