Production in SA’s primary and secondary sectors during December will come under the spotlight but it is likely to be President Jacob Zuma’s state of the nation address that will feature prominently in a week of modest economic data. Late in 2016 indications from the manufacturing sector suggested that staging a recovery in December following a mostly dismal performance during 2016 would be difficult. Between November and December the monthly purchasing managers’ index, which is a gauge of the sentiment of manufacturers about the country’s economic prospects, dropped 1.6 points to 46.7. The index is sponsored by Absa and compiled by the Bureau of Economic Research at Stellenbosch University. Economists project that manufacturing production will have been constrained in December, which is usually a quieter month for activity. Statistics SA will publish both mining and manufacturing data on Thursday. Economists at FNB project 0.6% growth for manufacturing, while Investec forecast 0.7%...
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