The economy of South Africa in the first quarter declined at the fastest pace in a decade. According to official data, South Africa's GDP fell by 3.2% compared to the fourth quarter, when growth was recorded at 1.4%. The forecast of economists suggested a less significant decrease - only by 1.6%. GDP in annual terms did not change, economists had predicted a 0.6% increase. The cause of the economic downturn was the long interruptions in the supply of electricity, which caused great damage to agriculture, the mining industry and the manufacturing industry. The sharp decline in GDP prompted Citigroup analysts to revise their forecast for the timing of lowering the base rate of the Central Bank of South Africa. Now they expect such a decision from the regulator already in July, not in September, as was predicted earlier. The Central Bank of South Africa estimates that GDP will grow by 1% this year.
On Friday, Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) announced a lower second-quarter profit because of the recession caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The decline was due to lower sales volume and changes in dealer inventories. During the second quarter ...
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Oil traded higher on Friday, further reclaiming lost ground from three-week lows in the previous session as the COVID-19 situation continued to dent the global economy as well as oil consumption. Brent crude gained 0.3%, trading at $43.08 ...
On Thursday, the United States’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) suffered the biggest economic decline in the second quarter as the surge of coronavirus cases affected the whole country. The U.S. government decided to shut down restaurants, ...
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd looks forward to the second half of the year as it expects a larger increase in chip demand brought by new smartphone launches. However, the company warned that the coronavirus crisis and trade disputes carry risks. Samsung, ...