Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Low oil prices provide relief for MENA’s resource-poor economies In contrast to the Gulf, the rest of the MENA region stands to gain from the recent fall in oil prices. That being said, a period of low oil prices alone won’t be sufficient to reduce these economies’... 23rd October 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Low EM inflation set to persist Inflation eased further in September across most of the emerging world, in aggregate reaching its lowest rate in nearly five years. Falling commodity prices and weak underlying price pressures mean... 23rd October 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
Emerging Markets Economics Update Cheaper commodities to allow rates to stay lower for longer We estimate that the recent fall in commodity prices could knock 1%-pt off Emerging Market (EM) inflation over the coming months. With slower economic growth set to keep a lid on core inflation in... 22nd October 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Tighter policy in Ghana to lead to further growth slowdown While Ghana’s authorities continue discussions with the IMF about a possible programme, the macroeconomic situation in the country appears to be getting worse. We suspect that the eventual tightening... 21st 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
Emerging Markets Economics Update The winners and losers from lower oil prices In simple terms, the big winners from the recent drop in oil prices will be those EMs with large energy import bills, while the big losers will be the major oil exporters. But in reality the situation... 15th October 2014 · 1 min read
Global Economic Outlook Euro-zone holding back recovery (again) Global growth is likely to accelerate slightly next year but to remain well below its pre-crisis average. Strong recoveries in the US and UK will be offset by near-stagnation in the eurozone and Japan... 15th October 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Trade Monitor EMs struggle to follow China’s lead Although EM export growth slowed in August, the general trend since the middle of the year has been one of improvement and more timely figures suggest that the recovery resumed last month. However, a... 14th October 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Kenya’s GDP growth accelerated in Q2, but risks building Kenya’s GDP growth accelerated in Q2 and this strength appears to have continued in Q3. But rising political risks and the prospect of tighter monetary policy are likely to prevent the economy from... 13th October 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack EM industry still struggling Industrial production (IP) growth in the emerging world is very weak. In aggregate terms, EM output grew by just 2.0% y/y in August – the slowest rate of growth since the global financial crisis. The... 10th 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
Emerging Markets Economics Focus Why slower growth is the "new normal" for emerging markets For all the recent talk of a “great moderation” in EM growth, the uncomfortable truth is that the big slowdown in the emerging world actually occurred several years ago. More recently, growth has in... 8th 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
Commodities Update What risks does Ebola pose to commodity markets? Aside from cocoa, the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa has not yet had a significant impact on commodity prices. The main reason is that the three most affected countries – Guinea, Liberia... 6th October 2014 · 1 min read
