South Africa's economy grows 0.7 percent in third quarter

PRETORIA: South Africa's economy grew by 0.7 percent in the third quarter of 2015 after contracting 1.3 percent in the three months to June, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday, as Africa's most industrialised economy avoided a technical recession.

Stats S.A. said gross domestic product expanded by 1 percent on an unadjusted year-on-year basis in the third quarter, compared with 1.2 percent growth in the previous three months.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a quarter-on-quarter increase of 1.1 percent and while GDP was seen rising 1.3 percent year-on-year.