Emerging Markets Economics Update How important is Chinese tourism? Chinese international tourist spending has surged over the past decade, which is one reason to think that the economic spillovers will be greater for the coronavirus than they were for SARS. But... 3rd February 2020 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Downbeat forecasts, Central bankers, plagues of locusts We published our latest Africa Economic Outlook this week, laying out below-consensus views on South Africa and Angola, but more optimistic forecasts for Ghana, Kenya, and Ethiopia. We think that... 31st January 2020 · 4 mins read
Africa Chart Pack Policymakers step up African central banks had a busy month in January. Policymakers in South Africa and Kenya surprised the markets (and us) by cutting their key rates by 25bp. We expect that both countries’ central... 31st January 2020 · 13 mins read
Emerging Markets Activity Monitor Coronavirus to hit EM growth Our Tracker suggests that aggregate EM GDP growth stabilised in Q4, but it will no doubt weaken sharply in Q1. The coronavirus has already dealt a significant blow to China’s economy, and other EMs... 31st January 2020 · 2 mins read
Africa Economic Outlook Another disappointing year Economic growth in Africa is likely to come in at just 3% this year, as the slump that began in 2015 drags on. The limit on regional growth will, again, come from South Africa where hopes for a... 30th January 2020 · 24 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack China’s coronavirus and the fallout for EMs There is no longer any doubt that China’s newly-identified coronavirus will hit its GDP growth in Q1. And other parts of Asia (notably Hong Kong and Thailand) will suffer a drop in Chinese tourism... 27th January 2020 · 9 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly CBN tweaks, Zambia struggles, Ramaphosa consolidates Nigerian policymakers kept their key rate on hold today, but tinkered with the cash reserve ratio in an effort to put a floor under falling interbank rates. Elsewhere, South Africa’s reform-minded... 24th January 2020 · 6 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update What next for the EM easing cycle? We expect that the broad-based EM easing cycle has further to run in the coming months but, as growth and inflation in many countries rise, it will be less widespread than in 2019. More importantly... 23rd January 2020 · 2 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Emerging Markets Capital Flows Monitor (Dec. 2019) We estimate that net capital outflows from Emerging Markets fell to a six-month low in December, and they probably declined further at the start of this year. With global growth close to bottoming out... 23rd January 2020 · 4 mins read
Emerging Markets Economic Outlook EM growth to pick up despite China slowdown After a bad 2019, aggregate emerging market growth is likely to strengthen this year, driven by improvements in large EMs including Brazil, Russia and India. But recoveries will generally be... 22nd January 2020 · 24 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Lower for longer: EM interest rates after the golden era This decade is likely to be marked by slower growth and softer inflation in emerging markets. One consequence is that interest rates will probably be lower than most currently anticipate. 13th January 2020 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Oil prices, African Swine Fever & EM inflation Our measure of aggregate EM inflation, which hit a four and a half year high last month, should fall over the course of this year as the disruption caused by African Swine Fever fades. But this is... 9th January 2020 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update West Africa’s Eco: Meet the new franc Rebranding the West African CFA franc as the “Eco” will have little economic effect; the new currency seems likely to be governed by the same FX regime as its controversial predecessor. The move may... 7th January 2020 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly SA trade figures, Kenya’s drought, Ugandan inflation The increase in South Africa’s trade surplus in November might look like good news at first glance, but it is merely a reflection of the weak economy. In Kenya, recently released data show that the... 3rd January 2020 · 5 mins read
Emerging Markets Activity Monitor EMs set for disappointing recovery in 2020 EM activity slowed at the start of Q4 and aggregate growth in 2019 as a whole is likely to be the weakest since 2015. Conditions should improve in 2020, but we think growth across many EMs will... 20th December 2019 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Nigerian prices jump, CFA rumours overdone Nigerian inflation figures released this week supported our view that border closures are pushing up prices in the country. We expect that this will prompt policymakers to delay interest rate cuts... 20th December 2019 · 4 mins read
