South Africa: Manufacturing activity deteriorates in September
Manufacturing output slid 0.5% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in September, which followed August’s 0.4% increase. Looking at the details of the release, the deterioration was primarily driven by declining basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery production, as well as falling wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing output. These developments more than offset rebounding petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products and food and beverages output.
On an annual basis, manufacturing output fell 4.3% in September (August: +1.5% yoy), the worst result since February. Consequently, the trend pointed down, with the annual average variation of manufacturing production coming in at minus 0.5% in September, contrasting August’s plus 0.2% reading.