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Finance: GDP Update – Second Quarter Of 2009
Recent Gauteng Business News
The key contributors to the decrease in GDP were agriculture, forestry and fishing (decline of 17.1%), manufacturing (decline of 10.9%) and wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants (decline of 4.5%). The decline in the manufacturing sector was expected as the South African economy continues to experience the effects of weakened local and international demand for manufacturing outputs.
The main sectors that reported positive economic activity are construction, which grew at a rate of 12.2%, spurred by projects related to the 2010 Soccer World Cup and the national government’s infrastructure development programme, and mining and quarrying, which grew at a rate of 5.5%. The government’s expansionary fiscal policy and push towards enhanced service delivery further resulted in a 2.4% growth in the government services sector.
It is expected that the third quarter will continue the contractionary trend, albeit at a somewhat lesser rate than the second quarter, with potential ‘green shoots’ in the final quarter of 2009.
Business News Sector Tags: Finance| Business|