Economic activity in KwaZulu-Natal unexpectedly bounced back in January despite hikes in the petrol price and inflation as some sectors of the economy showed strong growth and increased employment numbers led to a fall in economic stress. The latest KwaZulu-Natal barometer, as compiled by Mike Schüssler of Economists.co.za, grew 5.9% year-on-year, the strongest growth in two years. Month-on-month the barometer was up 4.9%, quarter-on-quarter; it gained 7.4% and the index was 8.3% higher than its levels of three years ago.

Click below link to view Business Barometer for January 2014: