All eyes on GDP on Tuesday
Investec Bank economist Kamilla Kaplan forecast a 1.5% increase, slightly under the consensus.
“The lift in third-quarter GDP growth momentum is, in the main, expected to have been underpinned by positive growth in the manufacturing and trade sectors, both of which had registered contractions in the first half of 2018,” Kaplan wrote in her weekly note e-mailed on Friday.
“The financial sector, which makes up a significant weighting of over 20% of GDP, is expected to have maintained moderate positive momentum in financial intermediation and auxiliary activities. In contrast, the primary sector of the economy is expected to have underperformed.
“The agriculture sector is likely to have contracted for the third consecutive quarter in the third quarter, on lower-than-expected maize production. Mining data for the third quarter signals that the sector registered a contraction and will therefore also detract from GDP.”
The rand firmed overnight to trade at R13.62/$, R15.50/€ and R17.36/£ at 6.45am.
Source: businesslive.co.za