SA bulk exports rise by 16.4% y/y in Feb after Jan's surge

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This meant that bulk export volumes grew by 25% y/y in the first two months of the year‚ which is substantially better than the small 2.6% gain in 2014 to a record annual total of 156.5 Mt. If we annualise the first two months of 2015 then SA could export almost 190Mt this year.

The Treasury predicted in the February Budget Review that real (adjusted for price changes) export growth would be 3.3% this year‚ but foreign trade is notoriously difficult to forecast accurately. The Treasury estimate is that exports only grew by a real 0.9% in 2014. The official data will be released on March 17 in the South African Reserve Bank's Quarterly Bulletin.

As Richards Bay Coal Terminal no longer releases operational statistics‚ economists are finding it more difficult to track economic performance in SA in a timely manner.

Fourth-quarter 2014 bulk exports were up 5.6% y/y after a poor first three quarters when the increase was only 1.5% y/y.

Source: BDpro via I-Net Bridge