Africa Economics Update Natural resource boom will bring its own challenges The production of natural resources will be a key driver of growth in Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania over the coming years, but it is also likely to bring a number of challenges. In Ghana, oil... 25th October 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: slower pace of fiscal consolidation The South African Finance Ministry chose to revise up its forecasts for the fiscal deficit in 2014/15 and 2015/16 rather than unveil new tightening measures in today’s medium-term budget statement... 23rd October 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Debut dollar bond issues still likely to go ahead The prospect of monetary policy staying looser for longer than initially expected in the US has left open a window for potential bond issues in Africa. We still expect a number of countries in the... 22nd October 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Why South Africa needs a weaker rand The South African rand was one of the hardest hit EM currencies during the summer sell-off and has now fallen by 15% against the US$ since the start of the year. However, as this Watch explains, a... 17th October 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: debt ceiling alone won’t solve fiscal problems The IMF is right to argue that fiscal policy in South Africa needs to be tightened over the coming years in order to put public debt on a stable path. But its recommendation that South Africa adopt a... 11th October 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economic Outlook Positive outlook but challenges lie ahead Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to remain one of the world’s fastest-growing regions over the next few years. Domestic demand will remain the key driver of growth. And while several external headwinds... 10th October 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South African PMI falls but still indicates decent growth in Q3 The South African PMI fell back in September but, following strong readings in the previous two months, it is likely that the manufacturing sector recorded decent growth in Q3 as a whole. 1st October 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: trade deficit to keep pressure on the rand South Africa’s trade deficit was wider than expected in August, as the ongoing weakness of the rand led to a surge in the local-currency cost of oil imports. In turn, a widening trade deficit could... 30th September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Chart Pack Nigeria bucks the inflation trend... for now Inflation has edged up in most countries in Africa in recent months, but Nigeria has bucked the trend. Here, inflation dropped to its slowest pace since April 2008 last month. This has been due in... 26th September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update African markets rally as Fed delays tapering The surprise decision by the US Fed to delay the tapering of its asset purchases this month has provided a temporary reprieve for emerging market assets, including those in Africa. In light of this... 23rd September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: rates on hold despite Fed surprise The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) left rates on hold today and gave no indication that any change was likely in the foreseeable future. Growth remains below trend, but policymakers expect... 19th September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Rise in capital spending takes edge off deficit concerns An increase in capital expenditure across the region over the past few years means that the general widening in budget deficits may not be as worrying as the headline figures suggest. But there are... 17th September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Fed tapering unlikely to put region’s external positions at risk The turbulence in financial markets over the past few months has raised concerns about how emerging markets will perform as global monetary conditions tighten. In the case of Africa, current account... 13th September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update External financing risks persist in South Africa South Africa’s current account deficit widened in Q2, and the shortfall continues to be funded in largepart by short-term capital inflows. As a result, the economy remains among the most vulnerable to... 10th September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Subsidy reform key to sustaining fiscal discipline The widening of fiscal deficits in several economies in sub-Saharan Africa over the past few years has increased the importance of subsidy reform. The good news is that policymakers are starting to... 9th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM PMI signals modest improvement in manufacturing Our EM-wide PMI suggests that emerging market manufacturing improved a little last month. The recovery in the euro-zone in recent months appears to have boosted external demand, particularly in... 3rd September 2013 · 1 min read
