Growth in agriculture and finance, real estate and business services made the highest contributions to the overall GDP increase, which was far higher than many economists expected. Consensus expectations put the increase at 0.4% in the second quarter, which would mark a modest recovery after the third quarter contraction.
Growth in the third quarter means that the size of the economy is now larger than it was before the Covid-19In the first quarter of 2022, South Africa’s GDP recovered to its pre-pandemic level, expanding by 1.9%. The pandemic’s economic onslaught caused the country’s GDP to contract by a painful 6.4%.
But in the second quarter of 2022 — after two consecutive quarters of upward growth — the country’s GDP shrank again. The 0.7% contraction coincided with the, which severely hit a province that contributes about 16% to the country’s gross domestic product. A number of economists had expected GDP to rebound modestly in the third quarter, considering economic data was a mixed bag for the period.from wholesale trade, motor vehicle trade, accommodation and food services. But retail sales declined. was slightly more bullish on the third quarter growth, forecasting a 0.7% increase.
Meanwhile, future GDP forecasts are bleak, with economic growth expected to be weighed down by the ongoing energy crisis.
Fabricated data