Manufacturing activity rose in Nov, but momentum weak

South African manufacturing production growth climbed back into positive growth territory in November, rising 1.9% year-on-year, after contracting 2.7% year-on-year in October. This, BNP Paribas Securities economist Jeffrey Schultz said, also came in higher than the firm’s consensus of a 1.1% growth forecast. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing production climbed 0.3% in November, mainly on the back of a 2.4% increase in basic iron and steel and nonferrous metals, a 5.7% rise in motor vehicles, parts and accessories and a 0.7% climb in wood, paper, publishing and printing production.