ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: Slightly better manufacturing figures expected
Domestic demand remains fragile and export orders are under pressure
Data is expected to reveal that not much improved in key economic sectors at the start of this year as the dampening effect of power supply challenges and higher administered prices continued to play out. The mining sector is expected to have contracted in January, after shrinking by 4.8% year on year in December, with a Bloomberg consensus predicting a fall of 3.5%, while Investec has forecast 3.7%. Investec economist Kamilla Kaplan attributed this to electricity-supply shortage and “upward administered price pressures”, which also had an effected on manufacturing — another energy-intensive sector. “During the first quarter it can be expected that production was adversely affected by the imposition of rotational electricity load shedding,” she said. The outlook for mining is muted by weaker global demand, suppressed commodity prices and downside risk such as persistent trade tension likely to weigh on growth, Kaplan said. FNB chief economist Mamello Matikinca-Ngwenya said slowing g...
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