Africa Economics Update SARB cuts and strikes a dovish tone The South African Reserve Bank resumed its easing cycle today with a 25bp cut (to 6.75%) and the dovish accompanying communication increases our confidence that the SARB will cut the repo by another... 20th November 2025 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update South Africa’s economy lost momentum in Q3 The latest activity data suggest that South Africa’s GDP growth slowed a touch in Q3, to around 0.5% q/q, and we expect it to remain around this rate over the coming quarters, helped by improved terms... 19th November 2025 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: an opportunistic MTBPS South Africa’s finance minister used today’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) as an opportunity to spend a large chunk of a recent revenue windfall to boost the economy. But this is likely... 12th November 2025 · 4 mins read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: structural reforms lag fiscal improvement South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU) has made important progress in tackling supply-side bottlenecks in the energy and logistics sectors. But, overall, our assessment is that the GNU’s... 10th November 2025 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update SA: narrower deficit means few fireworks at MTBPS The improvement in South Africa’s budget position and sharp fall in local currency bond yields mean less is at stake at next week’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) than there was at the... 5th November 2025 · 4 mins read
Africa Economics Update What to watch as Tanzania heads to the polls? Tanzania’s presidential election tomorrow is likely to result in a win for incumbent Samia Suluhu Hassan and ongoing investments into infrastructure and the extractives sector will support strong GDP... 28th October 2025 · 4 mins read
Africa Economics Update South Africa activity remains bumpy The South African activity data for August showed that the retail sector is struggling, but it looks like the economy will post reasonable growth in the third quarter on the back of rising output in... 15th October 2025 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Update What to watch out for as Côte d’Ivoire votes? Côte d’Ivoire’s presidential election is just a few weeks away and, while incumbent President Ouattara looks set to retain office, democratic backsliding raises the risk that unrest breaks out around... 13th October 2025 · 4 mins read
Africa Economics Update SARB holds, but the pause won’t last long The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) left the repo rate at 7.00%, but the decision was split with some MPC members voting for another cut. And with growth still sluggish, inflation weak, and... 18th September 2025 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update South Africa made a bumpy start to Q3 July’s activity data showed that South Africa’s start to Q3 was a bumpy one, with retail sales and mining output surging at the same time that the manufacturing sector hit fresh difficulties. We... 17th September 2025 · 2 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM rates: where the market could be surprised Our EM interest rate forecasts generally lie on the dovish side. But, in particular, we think that investors are underestimating the scale of interest rate cuts that will be delivered in Brazil and... 20th August 2025 · 4 mins read
Africa Economics Update SSA inflation trending down and rates will follow Many central banks across Sub-Saharan Africa have cut interest rates over the past year or so and Nigeria will soon join the rate-cutting club. With inflation low or falling in most countries, we... 18th August 2025 · 4 mins read
Africa Economics Update South Africa’s recovery back on track in Q2 June’s activity data suggest that, after a sluggish start to the year, South Africa’s economic recovery picked up in the second quarter, with GDP likely to have expanded by 0.8-1.0% q/q. And we think... 13th August 2025 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Is Trump the mortar for the BRICS? President Trump’s tariff salvo aimed at some of the BRICS economies has led to growing efforts within the bloc to present a united front in the face of US protectionism. But divisions between the... 12th August 2025 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update Côte d’Ivoire: bright prospects, stormy politics Côte d’Ivoire’s economic fortunes appear good, and we expect growth to accelerate, underpinned by strong cocoa, oil and gold exports. However, the country’s sizeable sovereign debt servicing costs and... 6th August 2025 · 5 mins read
Global Economics Update New US tariff regime still not the end of the story President Trump’s latest flurry of tariffs implies that the US effective tariff rate will rise to about 18%, from 2.3% last year. That is a little higher than we assumed and so presents modest... 1st August 2025 · 5 mins read
