South African Economy Recovers In Q4

(RTTNews) - South Africa's economy recovered in the fourth quarter on a sharp rebound in agriculture output, data from Statistics South Africa showed Tuesday.

Real gross domestic product increased 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter, following a decrease of 0.1 percent in the third quarter. This was the biggest growth since the second quarter of 2023.

On a yearly basis, GDP climbed 0.9 percent compared to a 0.4 percent rise in the third quarter.

Agriculture output surged 17.2 percent sequentially, while mining, manufacturing and construction shrank 0.2 percent, 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. On the expenditure-side, household final consumption expenditure increased 1.0 percent, while government consumption dropped 0.8 percent. Gross fixed capital formation was down 0.7 percent.

Changes in inventories in the fourth quarter contributed 0.2 of a percentage point. Net exports contributed nil percentage points, following increases of 2.1 percent and 2 percent in exports and imports respectively.

In 2024 as a whole, the economy expanded 0.6 percent, which was slightly slower than the 0.7 percent expansion in 2023.

Capital Economics economist Jason Tuvey said data suggested that the recovery is back on track. The economist expects above-consensus GDP growth of 2.3 percent this year.