The South African economy expanded at a faster pace in the second quarter, helped mainly by a marked rebound in mining output, data released by Statistics South Africa showed Tuesday.

Gross domestic product (GDP) increased a seasonally adjusted 3.2 percent sequentially in the second quarter, notably faster than the 2.7 percent growth seen in the first quarter. Economists expected the economy to expand 3.3 percent.

The positive contributions to the GDP came mainly from the mining and quarrying industry, which expanded an annualized 31.2 percent quarter-on-quarter, following the first quarter's 16.8 percent contraction.

The other sectors which contributed to the latest growth were finance, real estate and business services, domestic trade, catering and accommodation industry, general government services, and the transport, storage and communication industry, the agency said.

Year-on-year, the unadjusted GDP increased 3 percent during the three-month period, faster than the 2.7 percent gain economists expected. The estimate of GDP for the first six months of the year increased by 2.5 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The South African Reserve Bank last month reduced its interest rate for the first time in one-and-a-half year in a surprise move, citing increased downside risks to the economy from the global economic slowdown. The bank also lowered its inflation outlook for this year and the next, and forecast inflation to remain within the target range over the period.

The central bank said the South African economy is expected to expand at a slower rate of 2.7 percent this year than 2.9 percent estimated earlier, due to the impact of adverse global developments and deteriorating sentiment at home. The economy is forecast to grow 3.8 percent next year, and by 4.1 percent in 2014.

RTTNews