Johannesburg – Figures released by Statistics SA show
that mining volumes jumped 4.6 percent year-on-year in February.
This was from the 1.4 percent year-on-year gain seen in January
– which is typically a lower month due to the annual holiday season – the numbers
showed on Thursday.
Production was up 2.9 percent month-on-month but remains
negative on a quarterly basis, the stats show.
Despite gold output falling 16.8 percent year-on-year, and
coal being down 9.4 percent, iron ore (+20.9 percent), manganese (+15.7 percent)
and PGM (47.2 percent) production rose sharply, more than offsetting an
overall decline, FNB Senior Industrial Economist Jason Muscat notes.
Muscat notes the increase is welcome news in a week that
has seen poor manufacturing and retail trade sales data.
“Our view remains that better global growth (particularly
a stabilisation in China and infrastructure plans in the US) will continue to
buoy commodity prices and support production levels in the mining sector.
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“Furthermore, the cessation of the drought this year
should also provide good growth to the agriculture sector, with the overall
primary sector contributing positively to gross domestic product.”
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