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Having slipped from -9 to -13 index points during the second quarter of 2021, the FNB/BER Consumer Confidence Index recovered some lost ground to -10 in the third quarter of 2021, reports the Bureau of Economic Research (BER) at the University of Stellenbosch. “The partial recovery can be ascribed to upticks in the household financial position and timeto-buy durable goods sub-indices. Fiscal support in the form of the reintroduction of the SRD grant and cash allowances for government employees to a large extent countered the adverse impacts of the civil unrest on consumer confidence. Vaccination rollouts probably also bolstered confidence levels,” the BER says.