South Africa's business confidence dips, strikes hit sentiment

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Business confidence in South Africa edged lower to 90.5 in August from 90.7 in July as labour unrest, fragile economic growth, rising inflation and a weaker rand have hit sentiment, a business chamber said on Tuesday. "Many of the causes of poor economic performance could be ascribed to a domestic inability to address some critical issues relating to economic performance such as the impact of disruptive labour conduct," the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a statement. The rand has fallen more than 21 percent against the dollar this year, hit in part by fears over the impact of often violent strikes in the mining sector.