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According to Statistics South Africa, GDP expanded by 0.4% in the period under review after failing to grow in the year’s first three months. That was a period marked by power outages. Stats SA revised the first quarter number up slightly, having earlier reported a 0.1% contraction.
South Africa’s economy grew slightly in the second quarter of 2024. The recovery was aided by zero load-shedding coupled with a flattened first-quarter inflation.
According to Statistics South Africa, GDP expanded by 0.4% in the period under review after failing to grow in the first three months of the year. That was a period marked by power outages. Stats SA revised the first quarter number up slightly, having earlier reported a 0.1% contraction.
There was no load-shedding in the second quarter, which helped the electricity, gas, and water supply industry. The sector increased by 3.1%, driven by higher electricity generation and water distribution, according to Stats SA.
The country has had 161 straight days without power cuts and only 83 days of load-shedding this year. The 3.1% growth rate represents the sharpest increase since the third quarter of 2008 [also 3.1%.
Seven out of 10 industries contributed to the positive second quarter data, including finance, real estate and business services, manufacturing, trade, accommodation and catering, as well as construction. The 0.4% expansion matched Standard Bank’s forecast for the second quarter and was also supported by some improvements in the logistics sector, particularly in the railway and port operations, head of South Africa macroeconomic research Elna Moolman said in a note.
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Ahead of Tuesday’s GDP data release, economists at Nedbank predicted that the worst of the economic downturn was over, and also correctly forecast 0.4% growth for the second quarter.
