South African GDP Shrinks 0.2% In Q3

(RTTNews) - The South African economy contracted more-than-expected in the third quarter after expanding in the previous two quarters, data from Statistics South Africa showed on Tuesday.

In real terms, gross domestic product dropped 0.2 percent sequentially, reversing a 0.5 percent rise in the first quarter. Economists had expected a 0.1 percent fall.

Five industries recorded negative growth compared to the previous quarter. The agriculture sector contracted the most by 9.6 percent, and the construction industry showed a decline of 2.8 percent.

On the expenditure side, household final consumption decreased 0.3 percent, while government consumption was 0.3 percent higher in comparison with the previous quarter.

Gross fixed capital formation decreased 3.4 percent over the quarter. Exports rose 0.6 percent, while imports showed a sharp decline of 8.6 percent.

On a yearly basis, GDP declined 0.7 percent, in contrast to a 1.5 percent increase in the second quarter. The expected fall was 0.2 percent. Moreover, this was the first contraction since the second quarter of 2021.