South Africa's GDP Rebounds 0.4% In Q1

(RTTNews) - The South African economy expanded as expected in the first quarter after contracting in the previous quarter, data from Statistics South Africa showed on Tuesday.

In real terms, gross domestic product advanced 0.4 percent sequentially, reversing a 1.1 percent fall in the final quarter of 2022. 

As a result of the March quarter's expansion, the economy has now avoided a technical recession.

Eight industries recorded positive growth compared to the previous quarter. The manufacturing sector grew by 1.5 percent, and the finance industry showed an increase of 0.6 percent.

On the expenditure side, household final consumption rose 0.4 percent, and government consumption was 1.2 percent higher in comparison with the fourth quarter.

Gross fixed capital formation increased 1.4 percent, while net exports contributed negatively by 0.2 percent as imports grew faster than exports.

On a yearly basis, GDP growth decelerated to 0.2 percent in the first quarter from 0.8 percent in the preceding three-month period.