South Africa's manufacturing output declined for the fifth successive month in March, though at a slower-than-expected pace, data from Statistics South Africa showed on Thursday.
Manufacturing output fell 1.1 percent year-over-year in March, following a 5.6 percent decrease in February. Economists had forecast a 6.1 percent sharp drop for the month.
The negative contributions to the annual fall were largely driven by petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products and textiles, clothing, leather and footwear.
On a monthly basis, manufacturing production rebounded strongly by 4.0 percent from February, when it decreased by 1.3 percent. Meanwhile, it was expected to fall by 0.3 percent.
