Subdued trade and manufacturing stats released

Trade conditions and manufacturing output continues on a downward slump this year.

South Africa's manufacturing production contracted by 2% year-on-year in April after a revised 4% increase in March, Statistics South Africa said.

On a month-on-month basis, factory output was also down 2%, but edged up by 0.1% in the three months to April, compared with the previous three months.

Meanwhile, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) reported that trade conditions remained subdued in May 2015 with the seasonally adjusted composite Trade Activity Index (TAI) in negative territory registering 48 points, compared to 51 in April 2015.

New orders also remained weak and the sub-index decreased slightly to 49 from 50 in April 2015. New car sales in particular, as with retail trade, are facing headwinds as households are finding it difficult to make ends meet.

However, strong growth in new vehicle exports continued during the month of May, said Sacci. The possibility of rising interest rates also dampened trade conditions.