SA mining output contracts for eighth consecutive month

- Mining production saw a steeper-than-expected contraction in June but rebounded in the second quarter of the year, which will boost GDP.

The sector has been hard hit by high input costs, particularly in the gold sector, waning global demand and subdued commodity prices.

Mining production decreased 4.2 percent year on year June, after a contraction of 1.5 percent in May, data from Statistics SA showed on Thursday. This is the eighth consecutive contraction for the sector and a worse outcome than the 2.2 percent contraction economists polled by Bloomberg had expected.

Seasonally adjusted mining production increased by 3.2 percent in the second quarter of 2019 compared with a contraction in first quarter when the sector was battered by loadshedding.

- businesslive.co.za