Africa Chart Pack Regional slowdown masks key nuances Data released over the past month show that GDP growth slowed in both South Africa and Nigeria in Q1, but this masks important differences in the fortunes of the region’s two largest economies. In... 31st May 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EMs continue to lose steam Our EM GDP Tracker suggests that growth in Q1 may have slumped to a three-and-a-half year low, having been hit by a dip in global trade and structural problems in the BRIC economies. 30th May 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Tunisian dinar falls on back of IMF deal The Tunisian dinar has been one of the worst performing EM currencies over the past couple of months. Meanwhile, equity markets in the Gulf have continued to rally. 29th May 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Rand in freefall The South African rand has collapsed in the past month, falling by over 9% against the US$. The magnitude of the fall means that the currency may now be somewhat undervalued, but we expect it to... 29th May 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Demographics will not determine future of EMs Healthy demographics can certainly play a role in supporting growth in emerging markets. However, the future performance of places such as India, the Middle East and Africa, where demographics are... 29th May 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South African GDP growth slumps in Q1 South African GDP growth was slower than expected in Q1, and the outlook for the coming quarters is not very promising either. Nevertheless, the fresh sell-off in the rand leaves the Reserve Bank with... 28th May 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Weaker growth keeps EM central banks in easing mode In aggregate terms, EM monetary policy has been loosened over the past six months. But there has been a big difference between the actions of central banks in each EM region. In Europe and, more... 28th May 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: rates on hold as rand plummets The collapse in the rand over the past week or so means that, despite the continued weakness of South Africa’s economy, there is little room for the Reserve Bank to loosen monetary policy. In fact, it... 23rd May 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Focus What next for the EM recovery? The recovery in emerging market (EM) growth during the second half of 2012 has faltered since the start of this year. This is due in large part to renewed weakness in the BRIC economies, which we... 23rd May 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Nigeria resists government pressure to cut rates The Central Bank of Nigeria resisted government pressure to cut interest rates this afternoon, but we suspect that a combination of below-trend growth and sub-10% inflation will pave the way for... 21st May 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update EM inflation outlook benign As the distortions surrounding Chinese New Year have fallen out of the data, the underlying picture across Emerging Markets is one of weak price pressures. Looking ahead, there are few signs that... 21st May 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM consumer spending unlikely to stage strong recovery Over-invoicing by exporters over the last five months has significantly inflated the apparent strength of overseas demand. While official customs data show a surge in exports, this is not evident in... 17th May 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Should we worry about the region’s current account trends? Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have seen their current account surpluses narrow or their deficits widen over the past few years, raising concerns that the region is vulnerable to balance of... 16th May 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa GDP Tracker suggests small pick-up in Q1 Following today’s release of retail sales data for March, the Capital Economics South Africa GDP Tracker suggests that the economy picked up a little pace in the first quarter of this year. We think... 15th May 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack Growth slowdown prompts further easing Economic activity across the emerging world looks to have moderated since the start of the year, with our GDP tracker pointing to weaker growth in Emerging Europe, Emerging Asia and Latin America... 15th May 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Nigeria: Q1 slowdown reinforces case for rate cuts The slowdown in Nigerian GDP growth in Q1 was due in large part to the oil sector, but more importantly from the point of view of monetary policy, growth in the non-oil sector also cooled. With... 10th May 2013 · 1 min read
