On a monthly basis, a recent manufacturing slide picked up pace - a worrying trend indeed. Output in South Africa's manufacturing sector fell by 4.1% in July this year compared with the same month in 2020, data unveiled by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) showed on Thursday. This is clearly because of the unrest and looting that swept KZN and Gauteng in July, and is the latest data set to suggest that the economy contracted in the third quarter.
On an annual basis, July was a sharp reversal from what was obtained in June, when manufacturing production rose by 11.9% compared with the same month in 2020. Another annual increase would have been expected, as last winter the economy was still climbing out of the pit that had been dug by the initial hard lockdowns sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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