FX.co ★ South Africa Factory Activity Falls in July

In July 2025, South Africa's manufacturing output experienced a year-on-year contraction of 0.7%, following a 1.9% increase in June and aligning closely with analysts' predictions of a 0.6% decline. This downturn halted a two-month period of growth. The most significant negative impacts were observed in the basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products, and machinery sectors, which decreased by 3.3% and shaved off 0.7 percentage points, as well as the wood and wood products, paper, publishing, and printing sectors, which dropped by 1.8%, subtracting 0.2 percentage points. On a seasonally adjusted month-to-month basis, industrial output dipped by 0.5% in July, following a revised 0.4% growth in June. However, when looking at the three-month period ending in July 2025, seasonally adjusted manufacturing production rose by 2.5% compared to the preceding three months.