South Africa's economy contracted 0.2 percent in the second quarter
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Growth turned negative again.
South Africa's gross domestic product fell 0.2 percent from the first quarter after expanding 0.4 percent, Statistics South Africa reported Tuesday. The production and expenditure measures showed the same quarterly decline.
Trade activity contracted 1.9 percent, manufacturing 1.8 percent and mining 3.0 percent. Household consumption rose 0.4 percent, while fixed investment slipped 0.2 percent.
Imports increased 4.9 percent and exports rose 0.9 percent. The resulting net-export drag subtracted 1.1 percentage points from quarterly growth. Inventory accumulation partly offset that hit, but not enough to keep the economy expanding.
