SA may have entered a recession in the second quarter of 2018, judging from a monthly index of the value of banking transactions published by BankservAfrica.The interbank transaction clearing group reported on Wednesday that its BankservAfrica Economic Transactional Index (BETI) showed the biggest quarterly drop in five years.The value and volume of banking transactions provides an indication of what more detailed economic data will show in a few months time.Statistics SA reported in June that the economy, as measured by GDP, fell 2.2% in the first quarter of 2018.A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of GDP decline, and BankservAfrica’s June BETI reading adds to a growing list of indicators that SA’s economy continued to decline in the second quarter.The BETI’s quarterly decline was 1.9%, the largest quarterly drop since 2013."The economy seems to still be contracting although the timing between the BETI and the overall economy is sometimes out of sync due to the BETI ...
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