South Africa: Manufacturing production growth moderates in May
Manufacturing production rose 35.3% year-on-year in May (April: +88.1% yoy), partly reflecting a low base effect. Looking at the details of the release, food and beverages production growth softened in May, and petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products output growth also lost steam. Moreover, the trend improved, with the annual average growth of manufacturing production coming in at plus 6.7%, up from April’s 1.1%.
On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, manufacturing production fell at a quicker rate of 2.6% in May (April: -1.2% mom), the worst result since April 2020.