A recovery in local economic activity and business confidence would be indefinitely delayed while global economic uncertainties remained, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) affirmed on Thursday.

The Sacci Business Confidence Index (BCI) hit another low in January, declining further to 82,4 points, down 11,4 points from the 2008 low of 83,8 points in December.

The chamber noted that the BCI had continued to reflect uncertain global conditions.

However, despite recessionary global economic conditions, the local economic conditions appeared to be experiencing a "relatively subdued" impact, commented Sacci.

Only four of the 13 subindices of the BCI had made positive contributions in January, compared to the seven subindices that had made positive contributions in December.

Further, seven subindices had made a negative impact on the BCI's movement in January, while two had remained neutral.

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