Financial services company PPS’s Graduate Professionals Confidence Index (PCI) from the first quarter of 2014 reveals that South African graduate professionals are slightly more confident about the outlook of the economy and that the currency will strengthen compared to the last quarter of 2013.

Based on a PPS survey conducted among about 5 000 of South African professionals in the first quarter of 2014, PPS Investments CEO Nick Battersby states that 76% of the respondents said they expected the Rand to weaken further during the course of 2014, compared to 85% in the fourth quarter of 2013. He argues that this reflects professionals’ confidence in the recovery of the Rand in the future.

“While professionals are still concerned about the value of the Rand, it is clear that an increasing percentage of them believe that the slide in the value of the currency has be halted,” adds PPS group marketing and stakeholder relations head Gerhard Joubert.

Also in the survey, PPS mentions that respondents also revealed a confidence level of 54% when asked about their confidence in the economic outlook for South Africa over the next 12 months – a jump of four percentage points over the previous quarter. Joubert mentions that this belief could be a result of a number of factors, including the Rand reaching a three-month high in April.

Economists are pointing to two international factors, which could be contributing to the increased strength of the Rand – the announcement by the US Federal Reserve that it is cautious about raising US interest rates, paired with the current crisis in the Ukraine that is resulting in a shift of investments from Russia towards other emerging markets such as South Africa, both making the Rand more attractive to foreign investors.

This increased confidence is also in line with the Bureau for Economic Research ‘Consumer Confidence’ report, which showed that South African consumer confidence increased to –6 in the fist quarter of 2014 from –7 in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Battersby notes that other related economic data from the PCI reveals that professionals’ confidence level in the local equity and share market increased four percentage points to 62%, while 56% (versus 53% in the previous quarter) of respondents were confident South Africa has seen the worst of the global economic turmoil.

The survey also revealed that graduate professionals displayed an average confidence level of 79% when asked about their perception of the future of their profession in the country over the next five years. In addition to this, 60% of respondents would encourage their profession.

“The first-quarter survey reveals a greater confidence in the local economy from respondents, which is incredibly positive as these professionals play an important role in providing skills which sustain the economy,” concludes Joubert.