SA’s economy still looks dreary, with fears that the country is heading for its first recession since the financial crisis. While Thursday’s mining and manufacturing figures surprised on the upside, analysts said it would take a miracle in the retail sector to avert a recession. The retail sales figures are expected on Wednesday. A recession points to a prolonged slowdown in economic activity, stunting job creation and damping investment. This spells trouble for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ambitious growth plans and may see economists lower their forecasts further. In May, the manufacturing sector grew by 1.5% while mining production contracted by 2.6%, although far less than analysts had anticipated. "Surprisingly positive figures from the mining and manufacturing sectors suggest that SA’s economy improved a bit last quarter," said Capital Economics economist John Ashbourne. "Even so, GDP probably continued to fall." Confidence indicators The economy faltered in the first quarter w...
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