Africa Economics Update Angola: New GDP figures raise fresh debt worries Revised official GDP figures show that Angola’s economic slump is even worse than we’d thought. The revisions add to our concerns about the sustainability of the country’s large debt burden. Angola’s... 16th February 2017 · 2 mins read
Africa Chart Pack Africa: latest data confirm very weak growth in late 2016 Data published over the past month provided further evidence that economic growth in the region was very sluggish towards the end of last year. Q3 GDP figures did, admittedly, show that growth picked... 26th January 2017 · 1 min read
Africa Chart Pack Africa: Disappointing end to a painful year The latest figures from across Africa suggest that most economies in the region continued to perform poorly at the end of 2016. Activity data from South Africa suggest that the region’s most... 15th December 2016 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch Angola, Libya and Nigeria push OPEC’s output higher Further increases in output from Libya and Nigeria will make it more difficult for OPEC to reach their output quota of 32.5m bpd. 14th December 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Economic Outlook Tepid recovery as “Big Three” continue to struggle We expect that economic growth in Africa will pick up a bit in 2017 after a disastrous result in 2016. But the region’s recovery will be very weak, largely because of the poor performance of Nigeria... 7th December 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Chart Pack Africa: Recovery yet to gain traction While we still expect that most African economies will pick up steam in 2017, the latest figures suggest that the region’s economic downturn has still yet to bottom out. Major economies across Africa... 29th November 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Focus African Debt: Troubles contained in a few countries Mozambique’s worsening debt scandal has prompted fears of a string of debt crises across Africa. We believe, however, that the worst debt problems will be centred in Angola. Ghana and Zambia also look... 15th November 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Angola: Gradual recovery after a painful adjustment Economic growth in Angola is grinding to a halt as the economy adjusts to lower oil prices. Growth will recover in 2017 and 2018, but more gradually than most expect. 9th August 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update African currencies: Key calls for 2016 In this Watch we outline our key views on African currencies in 2016. First, we expect that both the Angolan kwanza and Nigerian naira will be devalued. Second, we expect that the rand will weaken... 13th January 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update African markets shrug off weak economic news South Africa’s rand rallied over the past month, despite a string of weak economic data suggesting that growth is slowing and inflation is picking up. Nigeria’s naira held steady, but yields on the... 22nd May 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Borrowing no substitute for reform in Angola The Angolan government’s attempt to use external borrowing to plug the country’s twin fiscal and current account shortfalls opened by low oil prices is, at best, a temporary measure. This will... 29th April 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Increased financial inclusion will support growth in Africa New figures from the World Bank confirm that Sub-Saharan Africa’s nascent banking sector is developing along a trajectory not seen in other emerging markets. The rapid expansion of a more inclusive... 27th April 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Chart Pack Nigerian politics take centre stage All eyes are focused on Nigeria’s election on 28th March, which will almost certainly spark a brief period of political violence when (as seems likely) the losing candidate refuses to accept the... 26th March 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economic Outlook A difficult year ahead A confluence of domestic and external factors will cut Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth in 2015 to its slowest rate this century. Low commodity prices will reduce export earnings and force fiscal... 18th March 2015 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Winners and (even bigger) losers from lower oil prices Most countries (and the world as a whole) should be better off as a result of the slump in oil prices, including key emerging markets such as China and India. Of the major advanced economies, Japan is... 17th December 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Fall in oil prices likely to push Angola into recession Angola will be one of the hardest hit EMs by the sharp fall in oil prices and we doubt that the authorities will be able to finance the likely current account deficit for more than a couple of years... 8th December 2014 · 1 min read