PRETORIA – South Africa’s economy grew strangely strong to 1. 6% in the third quarter of 2022, compared with a 0. 7% contraction in the current quarter, making it larger than before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to official data released Tuesday.
Statistics South Africa figures showed that 8 of the 10 industries recorded positive expansion in the July-September period. The agricultural sector was the main contributor to the expansion, which Stats SA attributed to good weather and excellent harvests.
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Analysts had expected an expansion of 0. 6% quarter-on-quarter. While the expansion has been stronger than that, some economists doubt it will remain as strong.
“Today’s impression is cause for celebration, but we want to be aware of the difficult expansion situations that lie ahead globally and locally,” said Sanisha Packirisamy, an economist at the financial organization Momentum.
“We are involved in the continued strength of exports for 2023, as many of South Africa’s export partners, including the U. S. , are in the U. S. “The U. S. , UK and Germany, have noticed that their expansion forecasts for 2023 have been lowered,” Packirisamy added.
Gross domestic product grew 4. 1% year-on-year in the third quarter, also above the current quarter’s 0. 2% year-on-year expansion and forecasts for a 2. 8% expansion.
“The result is stronger even than the maximum positive forecasts,” Jason Tuvey, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a note. “We predicted stagnation in the third quarter. “
Tuvey told Reuters it would raise its 2022 expansion forecast as a total of 1. 5 to somewhere between 2. 5 and 3Array.
Last month, the South African Reserve Bank forecast 1. 8% expansion this year.
This year’s growth constraints have included severe flooding that hampered operations at a key export hub and record power outages. (Additional reporting via Bhargav Acharya Editing via Alexander Winning, Alexandra Hudson)
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