Wholesale trade sales pick up in second quarter
The data offers further hope that SA left recession behind — though this was the third sector to post a decline in the final month of the second quarter
Wholesale trade sales increased by 1.1% in the second quarter of 2017 compared with the same period a year ago, Statistics SA data showed on Thursday. The main contributors to the increase were dealers in food, beverages and tobacco, as well as solid, liquid and gaseous fuels and related products. The survey is used to compile estimates of gross domestic product (GDP). SA is expected to have exited a recession in the second quarter. Mining and manufacturing data last week, and retail sales data this week, suggested those sectors made a positive contribution to GDP growth in the second quarter. For June alone, however, wholesale trade sales fell 1.4% from a year earlier, Stats SA said on Thursday. That is a slightly worrying sign, as mining and manufacturing were also weaker in the final month of the quarter — suggesting the positive trend may not persist into the third quarter.
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