Africa-Press – South-Africa. JOHANNESBURG – THE latest BankservAfrica Economic Transactions Index (BETI) data reflects a sharp rebound in economic activity in February following January’s weak performance.
Economic transactions reflected a strong monthly rebound of 2.2 percent in February after the easing of the lockdown restrictions on February 1, 2021 gave the economy a boost and change from the weak numbers presented in January 2021.
“The economy seemed to be performing better than expected, even as some restrictions remained in place,” a statement said yesterday.
Over the past year of Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions, the BETI had captured the real impact of these on the local economy, with massive declines in activity followed by the months of rebounds.
The February BETI level was 1.4 percent up on an annual basis and improved by 1.7 percent on a quarterly basis. But the monthly change of 2.2 percent from January 2021 was the highest increase since 2014 and 2012.
“On the whole, South Africa is likely to show strong positive growth in the first quarter of 2021. But the economy is not out of the woods yet. This can be seen in yesterday’s Stats SA figures where the real GDP for 2020 decreased by 7 percent,” the statement said.
Looking ahead, the BETI growth rate was expected to slow a little as fiscal policy and government spending declines, as stated in the 2021 Budget Speech. Higher commodity prices could be inflationary and lead to minor interest rate increases in the coming months and continue into 2022.
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