south africa economy The country avoided a technical recession in the fourth quarter as fewer rolling power outages helped energy-intensive industries such as mining and manufacturing recover.
Statistics South Africa said in a report on Tuesday that GDP expanded by 0.1% in the three months to the end of December, compared with a 0.2% contraction in the previous quarter. The growth rate for the full year was 0.6%, and the growth rate in 2022 was 1.9%.
Other sectors that contributed to growth in the fourth quarter included finance and transportation.
The figures are likely to be used by opposition parties to attack the ANC's handling of the economy ahead of the May 29 general election. According to opinion polls, the ANC's approval rating has fallen below 50% for the first time since it took office in 1994.
Last year's economic downturn was partly due to logistics challenges at state-owned port and rail operator Transnet, which hampered exports and held up materials and goods needed for production. The number of ships anchored in Durban, the busiest port in southern Africa by maritime traffic, had fallen from more than 60 in mid-November to just 12 by the end of the year. January.
Logistical constraints and near-daily power outages are likely to continue weighing on economic growth in the short term. The National Treasury forecasts economic growth of 1.3% this year, which will not be enough to tackle widespread unemployment and poverty.
Read: Energy, logistics crisis hits South Africa's economy
Household spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of GDP, increased by a revised 0.2% in the quarter, after falling by a revised 0.2% in the previous quarter. — (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP