The strengthening global economy and sustained positive momentum in global trade has helped to boost the country’s manufacturing sector, figures released by Statistics SA on Thursday showed. Manufacturing production rose for the second consecutive month by 1.7% year on year in November 2017. The sector experienced an even healthier 2.3% rebound in October after a disappointing performance in September. While domestic demand remained weak due to low business confidence and policy uncertainty, increased new manufacturing and export orders pointed to a continued expansion in global activity. They also pointed to sustained positive momentum in global trade, said Investec economist Kamilla Kaplan. On Wednesday, the World Bank forecast a global average of 3.1% growth in 2018, which would place economic growth at its full potential for the first time since the 2008-09 financial crisis. After a weak performance during most of 2017, manufacturing production is expected to improve further of...
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