Consumer confidence in South Africa plunged to its lowest in more than a year in the second quarter of 2026 under the weight of higher fuel prices, which have raised the cost of living.
The First National Bank FNB and Bureau for Economic Research BER consumer confidence index plunged to -19 from -7, reaching a depth last seen in early 2025, when finance minister Enoch Godongwana first attempted to table a budget that proposed hiking VAT by two percentage points.
Godongwana eventually abandoned those plans following fierce political resistance led by the DA.
