Africa Economics Update China, Africa and lengthy debt talks China’s prominence as a creditor to African economies goes a long way to explaining the slower speed of debt restructuring negotiations in Zambia, in contrast to Ghana, following their respective... 17th August 2023 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update Kwanza slump adds to clouds over Angola’s outlook Angola’s recent 40% devaluation of the kwanza will add to inflation pressures and prompt the central bank to tighten monetary policy aggressively, all of which will weigh on near-term growth. The... 10th August 2023 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Update What would make the SARB hike again? Policymakers at the South African Reserve Bank are keen to emphasise that their work to tame the “inflation monster” is not over, leaving open the possibility of additional monetary tightening. The... 27th July 2023 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update South Africa Interest Rate Announcement (Jul.) The further fall in inflation in June, coupled with signs of economic weakness and a decline in risk premia, prompted the South African Reserve Bank to leave its repo rate at 8.25%, bringing this... 20th July 2023 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update Nigeria: policy shift already weighing on activity The blow to Nigeria’s economy from a failed demonetisation exercise is fading but there are already signs that the inflationary effects of the devaluation of the naira and removal of fuel subsidies... 18th July 2023 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Update South Africa’s budget position starting to deteriorate The sharp improvement in South Africa’s budget in recent years has started to reverse. And this trend is set to continue as austerity is eased ahead of the 2024 election and revenues fall short of... 13th July 2023 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update Tanzania: near-term growth restrained, gas hopes bright Tanzania’s economic growth will remain sluggish by past standards over the next couple of years due to the effects of persistent drought and tight fiscal policy. But with policymaking shifting in a... 6th July 2023 · 7 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update What to make of policy shifts in Turkey and Nigeria Governments in Turkey and Nigeria have started to turn away from unorthodox economic policies in recent weeks, and in both cases currencies have been allowed to move closer to fair value. The key... 21st June 2023 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update What does Emefiele’s suspension mean for Nigeria? The suspension and potential removal of Godwin Emefiele as Nigeria’s central bank governor raises hopes that there will be a shift away from the current unorthodox and interventionist monetary and... 12th June 2023 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Update SARB keeps eyes firmly focussed on inflation The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) hiked interest rates by 50bp, to 8.25%, today on the back of policymakers’ growing concerns about the inflationary impact of persistent power cuts. For now, we... 25th May 2023 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update CBN tightens further as inflation threats mount The Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to raise its policy rate by 50bp, to 18.50%, reaffirmed that officials continue to focus on tackling high and rising inflation at the expense of supporting the... 24th May 2023 · 2 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Takeaways from our EM roundtables Over the past couple of weeks we have held a series of roundtable discussions with clients across Asia and North America on the outlook for EMs. In this Update we provide our thoughts on the recurring... 19th May 2023 · 6 mins read
Africa Economics Update South Africa’s electricity crisis threatening stagflation A quick solution to South Africa’s energy crisis is nowhere to be seen. Not only will power cuts remain a drag on economy but there are growing concerns that they are fuelling inflation, threatening... 18th May 2023 · 7 mins read
Africa Economics Update Where will South Africa sit in a fracturing world? South Africa has traditionally sought to be non-aligned and, in our ‘mapping decoupling’ work, we placed it in neither the US nor the China camp. But recent developments suggest that it could be... 16th May 2023 · 5 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update How feasible is a BRICS currency? Over the weekend, President-elect Donald Trump threatened a 100% import tariff on the BRICS countries unless they pledge not to create their own currency. In this note from 2023, we outlined the... 4th May 2023 · 6 mins read
