According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa (SSA), in July this year South Africa's manufacturing output increased by 0.4 percent compared to the same month last year.
In July, the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery decreased by 4.9 percent on year-on-year basis. In the given month, the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa fell by 1.1 percent, while the production of structural metal products decreased by 15.8 percent, both on year-on-year basis. As compared with June, in July this year the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa decreased by 5.2 percent and production of structural metal products narrowed by 4.2 percent.
For basic iron and steel products, the estimated seasonally adjusted sales of manufactured products (at current prices) in July this year decreased by 10.1 percent month on month, amounting to ZAR 8.64 billion ($602.07 million).