South Africa: Manufacturing activity deteriorates in August
Latest reading: Manufacturing production decreased 0.6% month on month in seasonally adjusted terms in August (July: +1.6% mom). Looking at the details of the release, the notable downturn came on the back of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery output swinging to a sharp contraction. Furthermore, food and beverages output growth waned. More positively, petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products output returned to growth.
On an annual basis, manufacturing production fell 1.2% in August (July: +1.6% yoy). Accordingly, the trend pointed down, with the annual average variation of manufacturing production coming in at minus 0.1%, contrasting July’s plus 0.1%.