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South African Factory Output Contracts For Eighth Straight Month
South African Factory Output Contracts For Eighth Straight Month
12 Mar 2020, 05:10 PM IST
(Bloomberg) --
South Africa manufacturing output contracted for the eighth straight month in January as fewer wood products, paper and vehicles were made.
Manufacturing output fell 2% from a year earlier, compared with a 5.9% decline in the December, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said Thursday on its website. The median estimate of 10 economists in a Bloomberg survey was for a 4.3% contraction.
Key Insights
- While production increased 2.5% compared with December, the drag on factory output is likely to continue. A gauge tracking expected business conditions in six months’ time, measured in Absa Group Ltd.’s Purchasing Managers Index, fell to the lowest level in more than a decade in February, indicating that sentiment in the industry may worsen.
- Power cuts, which weighed on output in January, are expected to continue for at least 18 months, according to state utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.
--With assistance from Colleen Goko and Simbarashe Gumbo.
To contact the reporter on this story: Prinesha Naidoo in Johannesburg at pnaidoo7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rene Vollgraaff at rvollgraaff@bloomberg.net, Renee Bonorchis
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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