South Africa's successful bid to host the 2010 soccer World Cup has helped to get consumers in the mood to go out and spend money, researchers said on Tuesday.
First National Bank and the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) said their consumer confidence index leapt to a record high in the second quarter of 2004.
It said a huge improvement in the index was spurred by surging morale in black and low-income groups, which comprise the country's majority, and for whom soccer is the most popular sport.
First National and BER said in a joint statement the index leaped to +17 in the second quarter, from -10 in the first quarter, the single largest quarterly increase since records began in 1982.
The news reinforces a raft of data suggesting that growth in the continent's biggest economy is gathering momentum, while inflation remains subdued enough to prevent near-term hikes in domestic lending rates, now at 22-year lows.
The soccer world cup is expected to boost South Africa's economy with a tourist influx and spending on infrastructure.
A peaceful outcome to national elections in mid-April, which the ruling African National Congress won with a landslide, a boom in house prices and expectations that interest rates would remain low were also cited as factors for rising confidence.
Black consumer confidence surged to +21 in the second quarter from -11 in the first - which was also a record increase for the group, the statement said.
At the same time, confidence levels for low income groups rocketed by 38 index points to +10, while confidence for lower middle income surged by 37 index points to +16.
White business confidence rose from -10 to +8, while high income confidence rose by 17 index points to +25.
The results were drawn from 2,500 households, surveyed between May 19 and June 10, the FNB/BER statement said.
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