South Africa's GDP down slightly in the second quarter

After two consecutive quarters of positive growth, real gross domestic product (GDP) in South Africa decreased 0.7 percent in the second quarter (Q2) of the year to 1.142 trillion South African Rand (about 66.1 billion U.S. dollars), in comparison with 1.151 trillion Rand in Q1, according to the data released by the Statistics South Africa (STATSSA) on its website Tuesday.

The STATSSA said in the statistics report that the devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal, an economic powerhouse contributed to the decline and affected such sectors as manufacturing, trade, catering and accommodation.

As for mining production, one of the pillar industries, the mining industry was dragged lower by gold, coal and diamonds, with the decrease in coal production caused partly by the flooding.

The finance, real estate and business services industry, however, made the biggest positive impact on GDP growth in Q2, rising 2.4 percent. And the growth was driven by increased activity in the banking sector, as well as in insurance and pension funding.

The STATSSA said in the report that the economy took almost two years to recover from the impact of COVID-19, with real GDP reaching pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter, as reported by Xinhua News Agency, a partner of TV BRICS.

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