Weak performance in key economies

Figures released over the past month confirmed that Africa’s larger economies have all struggled in 2018. South Africa, where GDP actually fell in Q1, was the worst performer. Elsewhere, figures from Nigeria, Angola, Kenya, and Côte d’Ivoire all suggest that economies stumbled in the first part of the year. We expect that growth will strengthen later in the year across most of the continent, but the risks our growth forecasts now lay to the downside. Currencies across the region performed very poorly over the past month. Measured against the US dollar, the South African rand fell by more than the Argentine peso. Falls elsewhere were more limited, but the Zambian kwacha and Kenyan shilling were the only currencies to gain appreciably against the greenback. Our monthly Chart Books will now include a Financial Markets section, which you can find on page 10.