South Africa: Manufacturing output accelerates in May
A preliminary estimate showed that manufacturing output continued to rebound in May. According to Statistics South Africa, year-on-year manufacturing output grew 2.3%, contrasting April’s downwardly revised 1.0% expansion (previously reported: +1.1% year-on-year). May’s print reflected strong contributions from the food-processing, automotive and petrochemical industries—blunting immediate fears of an industry-led technical recession through the first half of the year.
In month-on-month terms, manufacturing output rose by a seasonally-adjusted 1.5%, reversing April’s 0.5% fall. Meanwhile, the annual average variation in manufacturing output ticked up to 0.5% from 0.3%.