S African growth at six-year low

The mining sector saw production fall sharply

South Africa saw its economic growth slow sharply in the first three months of this year, marking a six-year low, according to official figures.

The economy grew 2.1% in the first quarter on an annual basis, from 5.3% in the final quarter of 2007.

The worse-than-forecast slowdown is blamed largely on power cuts affecting the mining industry.

The mining industry saw its output drop 22.1% in the first three months of 2008 to its lowest level in four decades.

"There is definitely a slowdown in the economy," said Joe de Beer, executive manager of national accounts at Stats SA.

"The two industries that constrained growth were mining and quarrying and manufacturing," he said.

While manufacturing grew by 8.2% in the last quarter of 2007, in the first quarter of this year it slipped by 1%.

Analysts said the latest wave of anti-immigrant violence had no clear impact on the economy to date, but their effects may yet be felt.

"Those attacks have made the tourism industry nervous," said the BBC's Caroline Hawley in Johannesburg.

"Large mining companies are also concerned because they rely on migrant labour," she added.