South African economy enters recession as Q4 2019 GDP contracts

South Africa's gross domestic product contracted 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2019, following a revised 0.8% contraction in the third quarter, data from Statistics South Africa showed on Tuesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had predicted a contraction of 0.1% in quarter-on-quarter and seasonally adjusted terms in the final three months of last year.

GDP shrank 0.5% year-on-year in the fourth quarter after a 0.1% expansion in the previous quarter. The economy expanded 0.2% in the 2019 calendar year compared to 0.8% in 2018.