South Africa: Decline in manufacturing activity softens in September
Manufacturing output slid 2.6% in year-on-year terms in September, which was above August’s 11.1% decrease and marked the best result since February.
September’s softer drop was largely driven by less pronounced contractions in the production of petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products, as well as in the manufacture of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery output.
On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, manufacturing output rose at a softer pace of 3.2% in September (August: +3.3% mom), the worst result since April. Meanwhile, the trend was unchanged in September, with annual average variation of manufacturing output coming in at August’s 11.5%.