Key South African data released this week suggests a record economic contraction in the second quarter as the damage wrought by a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic becomes clear.
Manufacturing production, mining output and retail sales plunged in the three months through to the end of June as the country imposed a strict lockdown on 27 March that shut almost all activity except essential services for five weeks. With mining and manufacturing contributing about a fifth of total GDP and trade, which includes retail, making up 15%, the drop means the recession probably became much deeper in the second quarter.
The economy contracted an annualised 2% in the three months to 31 March, extending its recession to a third quarter even before the impact of the global pandemic and measures to curb its spread were felt.
Reserve Bank forecasts show an annualised drop in GDP of 32.6% for the three months to 30 June from the previous quarter. That would be the deepest quarterly decline since at least 1990 and is conservative relative to Investec’s estimate of a 48.2% annualised contraction. The statistics office is scheduled to publish GDP data for the second quarter on 8 September.
The government started a gradual and phased re-opening of the economy on 1 May and restrictions were eased to so-called level 3 a month later. However, the closure of some businesses and scaled down operations that have lead to job losses are expected weigh on demand, slowing the recovery.
National treasury sees the economy contracting by 7.2% this year, the most in almost nine decades. — Reported by Prinesha Naidoo, (c) 2020 Bloomberg LP
