Economics
South African Economy Is Now Bigger Than Before Pandemic Struck
- Economy expanded faster-than-expected 1.9% in first quarter
- Output growth may slow in second quarter after deadly floods
Household consumption expenditure is likely to come under pressure as consumers reel from surging fuel and food prices.
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
South Africa’s economy is back at the size it was before the coronavirus pandemic struck, after growing faster-than-expected in the first quarter.
Gross domestic product expanded 1.9% in the three months through March, compared with revised growth of 1.4% in the previous quarter, Statistics South Africa said Tuesday in a report released in the capital, Pretoria. The median of 13 economists’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey was for growth of 1.2%. The economy grew 3% from a year earlier.