FX.co ★ South Africa Factory Output Falls More than Expected

South Africa’s manufacturing activity contracted by 2.8% year-on-year in February 2026, deepening from a downwardly revised 0.1% decline in January and significantly underperforming market expectations of a 0.3% drop. This was the fourth consecutive monthly contraction in industrial output and the sharpest decline since April 2025, driven primarily by weaker production in food and beverages (-4.5%); wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing (-9.7%); and basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery (-3.6%). On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, output declined by 2.2%, reversing an upwardly revised 1.9% increase in January. Over the three months to February 2026, manufacturing production fell by 2% compared with the previous three-month period.