Africa Chart Pack Nigeria forced to hike rates, while SA & Kenya hold fire The slump in the Nigerian naira this month forced the central bank to take drastic action. Interest rates were hiked for the first time in three years and the currency was devalued. But given that the... 28th November 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response South Africa GDP (Q3) The modest pick-up in South African GDP growth in Q3 reinforces the picture that the economy is struggling to recover from a strike-induced slowdown in the first half of the year. Meanwhile, upwards... 25th November 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa holds rates, but signals tightening on the way The Reserve Bank of South Africa left interest rates on hold at 5.75% today, but Governor Kganyago made it fairly clear that he expects monetary policy to tighten next year. A sluggish domestic... 20th November 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response South Africa Consumer Prices (Oct.) Inflation in South Africa remained close to the upper limit of the central bank’s target in October. Although recent declines in commodity prices will put some further downward pressure on inflation... 19th November 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response South Africa Manufacturing Production (Sep.) The jump in the annual growth rate of manufacturing production in September paints a false impression of the sector’s strength. In quarterly terms, output actually contracted in Q3 as a whole. 11th November 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa gets serious about fiscal consolidation South Africa’s Medium Term Budget (MTB), announced last month, received a mixed reception. Government bond yields fell slightly on the day it was announced. But last week, Moody’s downgraded South... 10th November 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response South Africa Manufacturing PMI (Oct.) October’s manufacturing PMI gave some encouraging evidence that South Africa’smanufacturers are bouncing back from the weakness earlier in the year. But we doubtthat the sector is about to embark on a... 3rd November 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Falling commodity prices not enough to pull SA’s inflation down Recent movements in commodity prices are unlikely to be enough to lower inflation in South Africa substantially. Indeed, exchange rate weakness and upcoming energy price hikes will put further upward... 23rd October 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: talked the talk on austerity, now to walk the walk Today’s medium-term budget statement provided some encouraging signs that the government is finally willing to implement fiscal consolidation measures in order to prevent the public finances from... 22nd October 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa GDP Tracker suggests sluggish growth in Q3 Our South Africa GDP Tracker suggests that economic growth picked up slightly in Q3, but was still very weak. As a result, there is a significant chance that GDP growth in 2014 as a whole undershoots... 16th October 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South African consumer spending to continue weakening The South African Reserve Bank is set to hike interest rates over the coming months to shore up the currency and counter above-target inflation, but this will hit household spending. Based on a few... 9th October 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Weaker currencies add to need for tighter monetary policy African currencies have not been immune to the recent sell-off in EM financial markets, raising concern in some countries about rising inflation. In this Watch, we examine which economies are likely... 7th October 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Effect of slowdown in China to differ across Africa Stronger trade and investment links mean that Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy as a whole is more exposed to China’s than ever before. We forecast China’s economic growth to slow over the next few years... 3rd October 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update SA PMI points to recovery, but manufacturing still sluggish The pick-up in South Africa’s manufacturing PMI in September provides further evidence that the sector has come out of its recent slump. But even so, activity remains extremely weak and the prospects... 1st October 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Chart Pack South Africa comes back into the firing line The South African rand has come under pressure this month as renewed attention on monetary tightening in the US has put the country’s large current account deficit back into the spotlight. The latest... 29th September 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Ghana’s markets rebound, but SA’s take a tumble Ghana’s markets have rallied in response to the news that the government has turned to the IMF for support, with the currency strengthening and the yields of dollar-denominated bonds falling this... 26th September 2014 · 1 min read
