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<\/a><\/p>\nThe highest growth rates were seen in durable and semi-durable goods, and the largest contributors to growth were expenditures on durable goods and services.<\/p>\n
Notable items in the \u2018miscellaneous goods & services\u2019 category that recorded growth include insurance-related products, as well as retail goods such as electrical appliances, jewellery and other personal effects.<\/p>\n
Clothing and footwear expenditure increased at an annualised rate of 22.2%. Changes in inventories, particularly in the mining and trade industries, also spurred growth on the expenditure side of the economy, Stats SA said.<\/p>\n
“It is promising to see household expenditure up 4.7% which is above the long-term average and indicates that households are slowly getting back on their feet after the financial repercussions of the pandemic,” said Maarten Ackerman, chief economist at Citadel.<\/p>\n “The data indicates that the majority of money is being spent on clothing, footwear, furniture, services, etc; however there has been a decline in spending at restaurants and hotels.<\/p>\n “This is to be expected in comparison with the high base of Q4 2020 when the hospitality industry reopened.”<\/p>\n Ackerman said that the massive increase of 20% in durable goods expenditure shows that consumers are feeling more confident about the future as one would not tuck into durable goods if one was concerned about the interest rate or job security.<\/p>\n Sector increases\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Eight of the 10 industries tracked by Stats SA recorded positive gains in the first quarter of 2021, with finance, mining and trade making the most significant contributions.<\/p>\n Economic activity in the finance, real estate and business services industry increased at an annualised rate of 7.4%.<\/p>\n This was mostly driven by property services, which recorded a rise in mortgage advances and bond registrations, and the banking sector which registered a rise in the number of credit extensions<\/p>\n “The mining industry had a positive quarter too with annualised growth of 18.1%, boosted by the production of platinum group metals, iron ore, gold and chromium,” StatsSA said.<\/p>\n “On the downside, miners in manganese ore, coal and diamonds recorded lower production figures in the first quarter.”<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n