South Africa's annual manufacturing production fell for a fourth consecutive month in September, Stats SA announced on Thursday.
Manufacturing production fell by 2.4% in September 2019 when compared with September 2018, a decrease well above the estimates of analysts.
On a monthly basis, production decreased by 2.4% between August and September.
Of the 10 manufacturing divisions that the index tracks, only food and beverages showed positive annual growth of 2.8%. The largest annual decline was in the glass and non-metallic mineral products sector, which decreased by 6.7%.
Lara Hodes of Investec, in a note to clients on Thursday afternoon, said the poor manufacturing data would detract from South Africa's 3rd quarter GDP result.
- Compiled by Jan Cronje