South Africa: Manufacturing production contracts at sharper rate in August
Conditions in the manufacturing sector deteriorated in August. In annual terms, production fell 1.8% in the month, following a revised 0.7% month-on-month drop in July (previously reported: -1.1% year-on-year). A marked contraction in the output of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery led the decline, which more than offset a rise in the production of food and beverages.
Meanwhile, annual average growth in manufacturing output slid to 0.5% in August from 0.7% in July.
On a month-on-month basis, manufacturing output climbed 1.3% in seasonally-adjusted terms in August, following a revised 0.8% expansion in the previous month (previously reported: +0.4% month-on-month).