The mining industry slowed in April after picking up significantly in March. Agriculture and mining were the biggest positive contributors to GDP in the first quarter but the mining numbers are low compared to last quarter. Mining production increased by 1.7% year-on-year in March 2017 on the back of an improvement in commodity prices and uptick in demand. The biggest contributor was iron ore which was up 29.9% and contributed 4.6 percentage points while coal was down 8.9% and detracted 2.3 percentage points and platinum group metals (PGMs) were down 5.3% percentage points which detracted 1.2 percentage points. Seasonally adjusted mining production decreased by 1.6% in April 2017 compared with an increase of 3.7% in March. FNB economist Mamello Matikinca said last week that a moderation in growth for both manufacturing and mining was expected. "Since March’s 15.5% jump in mining production, commodity prices have softened as (US President Donald) Trump’s infrastructure plans stutter,...
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