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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| South Africa goes into recession | South Africa goes into recession |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The South African economy has gone into recession after official figures showed that it contracted an annualised 6.4% in the first three months of 2009. | The South African economy has gone into recession after official figures showed that it contracted an annualised 6.4% in the first three months of 2009. |
| Africa's biggest economy shrank 1.8% in the previous three months, compared with the same period a year before. | Africa's biggest economy shrank 1.8% in the previous three months, compared with the same period a year before. |
| The first-quarter figure was the biggest decline since 1984 and puts South Africa in its first recession since 1992. | The first-quarter figure was the biggest decline since 1984 and puts South Africa in its first recession since 1992. |
| A recession is generally defined as being two quarters of negative growth. | A recession is generally defined as being two quarters of negative growth. |
| "It's far worse than we expected," said Elna Moolman, economist at Barnard Jacobs Mellet. | "It's far worse than we expected," said Elna Moolman, economist at Barnard Jacobs Mellet. |
| "It confirms the recession in the economy and certainly increases concerns about overall growth for 2009, given such a bad start for the year." | "It confirms the recession in the economy and certainly increases concerns about overall growth for 2009, given such a bad start for the year." |
| World Cup spending | |
| The Reserve Bank of South Africa is due to announce its latest decision on interest rates on Thursday. | The Reserve Bank of South Africa is due to announce its latest decision on interest rates on Thursday. |
| It is now expected to cut rates by a full percentage point from the current level of 8.5%. | |
| Statistics South Africa, which calculated the figures, said the slowdown in manufacturing and the mining and quarrying sector had been primarily responsible for the contraction. | |
| Mining firms have been hit by falling demand for their products as a result of the global economic slowdown. | |
| One of the few sectors showing growth was construction, which has been boosted by a huge programme of government investment ahead of the football World Cup in 2010. |