A 19% crash in gold production, which dragged down overall mining output, would not be enough to prevent SA emerging from its first recession in a decade, economists said. The drop in output by gold producers in September was the biggest in almost four years, highlighting the woes of an industry that was once the mainstay of SA’s economy and has in recent years been beset by the cost of operating some of the world’s deepest mines amid an uncertain policy environment.

The 1.7% growth in manufacturing, together with retail data to be released next week, will probably be enough to ensure that the economy overall limps into a positive territory in the third quarter, to the relief of the government. If you are already a subscriber, please click on the following link  to go to the full article:  SA’s recession likely over in third quarter If you would like to subscribe to BusinessLIVE to read the full story, please click here. ..

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