Year-on-year mining production up 3.1% in February
Diamonds, iron ore, manganese ore and coal were the main positive contributors
Mining production increased by 3.1% year-on-year in February 2018, on higher commodity prices. Statistics SA has revised the January figure to 2.9% from 2.4%. The main positive contributors were diamonds (up 42.9% and contributing two percentage points); iron ore (up 10.5% and contributing 1.5 percentage points); manganese ore (up 24.3% and contributing one percentage point); and coal (3.9% and contributing one percentage point). Seasonally adjusted mining production increased by 0.9% in February 2018 compared with January, following a month-on-month increase of 1% in January. In the three months ended February, seasonally adjusted mining production decreased by 2.4% compared with the previous three months. Mineral sales also increased by 1.8% year-on-year in February. Investec expected mining to grow at up to 2.8% while macro-economics website Trading Economics projected mining output of 5%. Investec economist Lara Hodes said this is supported by the sustained, synchronised upswing...
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