South African economy rebounds in Q3 led by mining, manufacturing

PRETORIA: South Africa's economy rebounded strongly in the third quarter as coronavirus restrictions were eased, with mining and manufacturing leading an expansion across all sectors.

Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday that gross domestic product expanded by 66.1pc in seasonally adjusted, annualised terms in July-September from the second quarter, when the economy shrank by a revised 51.7pc as lockdowns stalled activity.

Compared with the same period a year earlier, GDP shrank by 6pc in the third quarter after a revised 17.5pc contraction in Q2.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 52.6pc expansion in quarter-on-quarter terms, while a 7.2pc contraction was expected year-on-year.

All sectors expanded, with primary sectors registering the biggest growth. Mining jumped 288.3pc, manufacturing was up 210.2pc and trade rose 137pc.

"When you get a situation where there is extreme disruption in a specific quarter ... then annualisation can give you a slightly distorted figure. We have seen that with COVID-19," said Joe de Beer, Stats SA's director general for economic data.

"It is not reasonable to assume that this magnitude of recovery will continue for the rest of the year ... what is important to look at is the growth in the first three quarters."