IMPROVED ACTIVITY
Rise in mining outcome may offset recession
Economists expect the economy to avoid a technical recession on improved mining and agriculture data
The economy is likely to have avoided a technical recession because of improved outcomes in mining and agriculture, economists said on Wednesday. This is despite a lukewarm performance in retail trade sales in March and a disappointing showing in manufacturing. Retail trade sales, considered the last set of data that will complete the puzzle of how GDP performed in the first quarter of 2017, were released on Wednesday. Retail trade sales rose 0.8% to R61bn year on year in March, according to Statistics SA. Investec economist Kamilla Kaplan said: "Contractions in the retail trade and manufacturing sectors will have weighed on [first quarter GDP] but the economy is likely to have avoided a technical recession owing to stronger mining sector activity." BNP Paribas Securities economist Jeffrey Schultz said although the manufacturing and retail trade sectors looked to be the largest drags on GDP growth in the first quarter, "the bounces in [mining and agriculture which are] the primary s...
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