South Africa’s economy expanded for a fourth straight quarter, extending the longest growth streak since 2021, when the nation was recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gross domestic product increased 0.5% in the three months through September, compared with revised growth of 0.9% in the prior quarter, Statistics South Africa said in a report released in the capital, Pretoria, on Tuesday.
That matched the median estimate of 11 economists in a Bloomberg survey.
Growth in the quarter was largely led by the mining and agriculture sectors, which expanded 2.3% and 1.1%, respectively. Every other industry expanded barring electricity, gas and water, which shrank 2.5%.
“Growth was very widely spread across the economy,” Joe de Beer, acting secretary general for the statistics agency, said at a briefing.
Gross fixed capital formation reversed its decline, rising 1.6% in the quarter. That signals businesses are beginning to invest in machinery, buildings and other fixed assets, which may help lift the productive capacity of the economy.
The increase in investment was largely on the back of an increase in spending on transport, aircraft components, shipping and the non-residential segments of the economy such as schools, De Beer said. There was also an increase in capital expenditure on items including computer software and biological assets, he said.
While growth in capital formation was the most in over two years, it’s too early to tell whether it will be sustained, said Bokang Lepolesa, head of national accounts at the statistics office.
The reading adds to a recent spate of positive news on Africa’s most industrialised economy.
Last month, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered a mid-term budget statement that showed better revenue collection, while S&P Global Ratings lifted the nation’s credit rating for the first time in two decades.
Compared with the same period last year, the economy expanded 2.1% in the third quarter, up from a revised 0.9% in the prior three months. That was quicker than the 1.8% growth expected by six economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Over the nine months through September, an early indicator of where full-year growth may land, GDP expanded 1.2%.
The government welcomed the data as it pledged to do more to foster stronger growth.
“While challenges remain, the economy is on a path of gradual recovery,” acting government spokesperson Nomonde Mnukwa, said in a statement. “Government will continue implementing measures to support growth, investment and job creation.”
BLOOMBERG