The focus this week will be on February’s manufacturing and mining production numbers.
Stats SA will on Tuesday release manufacturing production data for February. Data showed that manufacturing production contracted 3.7% year on year in January, after a contraction of 4.5% year on year in December. This was the third consecutive month of falling industrial activity, amid persistently high levels of load-shedding and failing infrastructure.
Mining production data for February will be released on Thursday. Output in this sector in January declined 1.9% year on year after a decline of 3.6% in December, extending the annual decline to 12 consecutive months.
Both sets of data is expected to show further deceleration in activity given the intensity of rotational power cuts, while the outlook for the global economy has become uncertain.
Load-shedding has become a daily reality for SA in 2023, hitting energy-intensive sectors such as manufacturers and miners particularly hard, overshadowing the positive effects brought about by the reopening of China’s borders in January. State-owned Eskom’s supply is battling to keep up with demand, hurting the production sectors of the economy in particular.
Also this week, data on SA’s gross foreign-exchange reserves for March will be released on Tuesday.
SA’s gross foreign-exchange reserves decreased to $61.02bn in February, from a record $61.86bn in January. The decline was driven by a lower dollar-denominated gold price, valuation adjustments given a stronger US dollar and asset price changes, as well as government-related foreign-exchange payments.
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