The mining sector has pulled out of recession, posting modest growth in the second quarter, according to figures from Statistics SA released on Tuesday. Month on month, mining production increased by 2.8% in June. The country is estimated to have the world’s fifth-largest mining sector in terms of economic value. In 2017, mining contributed 8% to SA’s GDP. “The sector has moved out of recession in the second quarter and as such will be a slight positive contributor to GDP growth in the quarter,” said NKC analyst Gerrit van Rooyen. The sector responded to the exchange rate and the depreciation of the rand provided support for the sector, he said. The rand was particularly weak against the dollar in June, losing a monthly 8.06% against the greenback. It hit a best level of R12.52 in intraday trade in the month, but weakened to R13.73 at the end of June. Most analysts think the growth in the mining sector, the first time in four months, might just be a blip. FNB senior economic analyst...
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