Africa Economic Outlook Domestic woes to drag down growth Homegrown problems in Sub-Saharan African economies exacerbated by external headwinds are likely to curtail growth this year. We think that regional GDP will expand by 2.3%, which is well below the... 31st March 2023 · 24 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Monetary policymakers in hawkish mode, debt in focus Central banks in South Africa, Kenya and Ghana all stepped up the pace of monetary tightening this week as concerns about inflation and currency weakness flared up. But we doubt that the rule of... 31st March 2023 · 5 mins read
Global Economic Outlook From cost of living crisis to banking crisis? The strongest headwind for the global economy has shifted from an energy crisis and the related squeeze on real incomes to a potential banking crisis and associated drag on credit. Since banks are... 30th March 2023 · 46 mins read
Africa Economics Update SARB’s hawks return to driver seat The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) delivered a more-aggressive-than-expected 50bp interest rate hike, to 7.75%, today as hawks returned to the majority with a bang. But while the probability of... 30th March 2023 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Central banks focus on inflation and currency risks Nigeria’s central bank shrugged off the recent banking sector turmoil and kept its eye firmly focussed on tackling inflation as it hiked interest rates this week and, on balance, we think that... 24th March 2023 · 6 mins read
Africa Chart Pack Financial markets bruised, central banks hawkish Financial markets across Sub-Saharan Africa have struggled – and have underperformed their EM peers – since the global banking sector turmoil erupted. Amid broad risk-off sentiment, African sovereign... 23rd March 2023 · 10 mins read
Africa Data Response South Africa Consumer Prices (Feb.) The rise in South Africa’s headline inflation rate, to 7.0% y/y, in February may be a sign that the intensification of loadshedding in recent months is fuelling price pressures. So long as renewed... 22nd March 2023 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update CBN teeing up end of tightening cycle The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised the benchmark rate by 50bp, to 18.00%, and appeared to lay the groundwork to draw the tightening cycle to a close. 21st March 2023 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Ripples of global banking turmoil in Sub-Saharan Africa Strains in the global banking system have roiled financial markets, but in Sub-Saharan Africa the main impact of the turmoil is likely to feed through via lower commodity prices and tighter external... 17th March 2023 · 8 mins read
Africa Data Response South Africa Activity Data (Jan.) & Nigeria CPI (Feb.) January’s hard activity figures out of South Africa came in stronger than expected, reducing the chances of a technical recession. But momentum remains extremely weak. Elsewhere, the rise in inflation... 15th March 2023 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly South Africa: cabinet shuffled, economy shaken This week’s cabinet reshuffle in South Africa is unlikely to be a magic bullet to fix the country’s deepening energy crisis. We think that further pain lies in store for the broader economy, as well... 10th March 2023 · 7 mins read
FX Markets Update Struggling rand may face more near-term pain The South African rand has weakened sharply against the US dollar so far this year, markedly underperforming other emerging market (EM) currencies. We expect domestic and global headwinds to drive a... 9th March 2023 · 4 mins read
Africa Data Response South Africa GDP (Q4) South Africa’s GDP fell by a sharper-than-expected 1.3% q/q in Q4, and the broad-based weakness in economic activity is unlikely to improve any time soon as severe power cuts and fiscal consolidation... 7th March 2023 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Post-election trickle of reforms in Nigeria, SA navy drills The results of Nigeria’s presidential election were quickly challenged by the opposition this week, which is likely to keep investors on tenterhooks. And even once the dust settles, we suspect that... 3rd March 2023 · 7 mins read
Africa Economics Update Nigeria’s elections: no U-turn away from “Buharinomics” Hopes that Nigeria’s elections would usher in a markedly more business-friendly administration were dashed after the ruling party’s Bola Tinubu was declared president-elect. Economic policy under a... 1st March 2023 · 3 mins read
Africa Data Response South Africa Manufacturing PMI (Feb.) The sharp fall in South Africa’s manufacturing PMI last month provides further signs that the country’s electricity crisis is taking a heavy toll on the economy. And the jump in the prices component... 1st March 2023 · 2 mins read