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South Africa
Farming helps grow South African economy out of recession
South Africa emerged from a recession in the second quarter as agriculture helped the economy expand more than expected, official gures showed, strengthening the rand and bonds. Africa ' s most industrialised economy grew 2.5 percent in the three months to the end of June, a�er contracting by 0.6 percent in the rst quarter and by 0.3 percent in the nal quarter of 2016, Statistics South Africa said.
�e rand rmed against the dollar in response to the data, and was trading 0.23 percent rmer at 12.9500 / dollar at 1113 GMT. Government bonds also rmed, with the benchmark paper down 1.5 basis points to 8.5 percent.
Leading the recovery was the agriculture sector, which expanded 33.6 percent in the second quarter as it recovered from last year ' s drought. Mining, manufacturing and trade also registered growth. President Jacob Zuma last month said 2017 growth would be below 0.5 percent, down from a forecast of 1.3 percent in February, a�er the poor rst-quarter numbers. Low growth has piled pressure on Zuma, beset by the fallout from credit downgrades and corruption scandals.
Con dence elusive Gross domestic product rose 1.1 percent on an |
that is still elusive,” said Standard Chartered Bank ' s Chief Africa Economist Razia Khan. |
unadjusted year-on-year basis in the second |
quarter, compared with a 1.0 percent expansion in the previous three months, the statistics agency said.“ �e growth rate is not what planners and those in decision-making positions would have wanted. Although it ' s not negative, it is not at the level that was planned for,” said Statistician- General Pali Lehohla. |
“ �e Q2 GDP data demonstrates some momentum in the economy, but this is unlikely to be sufficient to discourage the( central bank) from further easing in support of the economic recovery.” �e South African Reserve Bank cut its repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.75 percent in July for the rst time in ve years to support the economy. |
Since South Africa emerged from the 2009 |
recession, growth has fallen short of the government ' s target of 5 percent, the level e c o n o m i s t s s a y i s n e e d e d t o c u r b unemployment. |
Gigaba has pledged to shrink the budget de cit, currently 3.9 percent, to 3.3 percent of GDP by 2019 in an effort to avoid deeper credit downgrades, but economists believe he is unlikely |
“ A restoration of investor con dence remains |
to |
nd the revenue or make the spending cuts |
important for a sustained recovery. For now, |
needed. |
Dam Linings and Tarps
Earth dam linings Reservoir linings
Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said in a statement on Tuesday the improved growth gures were encouraging but that it was too early to celebrate.“ We need to remain honest about the major challenges that still face the local economy. Poverty, unemployment, and inequality which are being underpinned by persistent low growth remain the challenge,” he said.
Welded mesh reservoirs
Trailer Tarpaulins
Truck tarpaulins
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