Nigeria policy mistakes, South Africa austerity

Recent interventionist actions from Nigeria’s central bank and government have heightened our fears that growing political pressures are undermining policy reforms. This could see Nigeria’s inflation and public finance outlooks deteriorate once again. Elsewhere, the South African rand has come under pressure over the past couple of months and signs that politicians’ appetite for renewed fiscal consolidation efforts is waning ahead of next year’s elections mean that the currency is likely to remain on the backfoot.