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South Africa: Manufacturing production contracts in September
Latest reading: Manufacturing production declined 0.5% in seasonally adjusted month-on-month terms in September, following 0.7% growth in the prior month. The reading missed market expectations of a timid rise.
Relative to the prior month’s data, readings in September worsened for petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products (-2.9% in seasonally adjusted month-on-month terms vs +7.5% in August) and food and beverages (-1.7% vs -0.5% in August). In contrast, readings improved for basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery (+4.0% vs -3.6% in August) and wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing (-1.7% vs -2.6% in August).
On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output increased 0.3% in September, following a 1.5% decline in the previous month.
