South Africa has, for the second year in a row, entered a recession following a 1.4 percent contraction of its gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2019, APA learnt on Tuesday.
According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), the recession followed a revised 0.8 percent contraction in the third quarter of 2019.
The dismal performance in the last three months of the year was a result of power load-shedding which dragged down the retail and transport sectors, the agency said.
These were the biggest drawbacks to growth in the fourth quarter contracting by 3.8 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively, Stats SA added.
Agriculture also saw negative growth of 7.6 percent as a result of foot and mouth disease and drought in parts of the country, the agency said.
NM/jn/APA