The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) released its September 2024 Quarterly Bulletin on Thursday and noted that South Africa’s real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 0.4% in the second quarter of 2024.
The central bank said that SA’s domestic economic activity recovered in the second quarter of 2024 as GDP expanded by 0.4% along with a stable electricity supply, after remaining stagnant in the previous quarter.
“The real gross value added (GVA) by the secondary and tertiary sectors increased in the second quarter of 2024, while that by the primary sector decreased anew,” SARB noted.
The Reserve Bank said that after increasing by 3.6% in the first quarter of 2024, the real GVA by the primary sector decreased by 1.3% in the second quarter as both agricultural and mining output contracted.
“Agricultural activity was weighed down by the lower production of animal products and field crops, with the domestic maize crop harvest expected to be more than 20% lower than the 2023 harvest,” the Bank said.
“The real output of the mining sector contracted further by 0.8% in the second quarter of 2024 despite the absence of electricity load-shedding over this period. The decrease resulted largely from the lower production of iron ore, coal and diamonds amid ongoing domestic rail and port inefficiencies as well as subdued prices of some commodities.”
Gross domestic product and expenditure
The SARB said that the real output of the secondary sector reverted from a contraction of 1.5% in the first quarter of 2024 to an expansion of 1.3% in the second quarter and this was largely reflecting the turnaround in manufacturing production, a notable increase in electricity, gas and water activity and a recovery in the construction sector.
The Bank said that South Africa’s manufacturing production increased by 1.1% in the second quarter of 2024. This was likely boosted by the stable supply of electricity during the quarter as the production of both durable and nondurable goods increased.
South Africa’s real gross domestic expenditure increased by 1.0% in the second quarter of 2024 following a decrease of 0.6% in the first quarter.
The Reserve Bank said that real final consumption expenditure by households contributed the most to growth in real GDP in the second quarter, followed by general government and an accumulation in real inventory holdings.
“Net exports detracted the most from real GDP, followed by a further deduction by real gross fixed capital formation over this period,” the SARB said.
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