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Weak core inflation keeps door open to more rate cuts The jump in South Africa’s headline inflation rate to 3.5% y/y masked continued weakness in core inflation, which leaves the door open for the Reserve Bank’s easing cycle to continue. We remain …
20th August 2025
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 generally expect more monetary easing than the consensus by …
18th August 2025
SA: rise in joblessness bolsters case for more easing The rise in South Africa’s unemployment rate in Q2 reinforces our view that inflation will stay subdued, further interest rate cuts are coming and local currency bond yields will continue to decline. …
15th August 2025
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 tailwinds from low inflation, looser monetary policy …
13th August 2025
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 members will ultimately limit how far political and …
12th August 2025
Zambia should fix the roof while sun is shining Zambia secured another disbursement from the IMF this week, though it’s unclear whether it will try to extend its programme. We see little room for hesitation; fiscal strains remain severe, and continued …
8th August 2025
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 reliance on external financing remain key risks, …
6th August 2025
Africa’s easing cycle continues The easing cycle in Sub-Saharan Africa was in full flow this week as central banks in Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa all delivered interest rate cuts. Nigeria will soon follow suit. Ghana moved first, slashing its …
1st August 2025
President Trump’s latest flurry of tariffs implies that the US effective tariff rate will rise to about 17%, from 2.3% last year. That is a little higher than we assumed and so presents modest downside risks to our forecast for global GDP growth and a …
The South African Reserve Bank’s decision to continue with its interest easing cycle today, with a 25bp cut to 7.00% was unsurprising, and the highlight of the meeting was Governor Kganyago’s announcement that the SARB will informally target the bottom of …
31st July 2025
Africa Chart Pack (Jul. 2025) …
30th July 2025
SA: subdued inflation, weak economy = rate cut The weak June inflation figure out of South Africa strengthens the case for the SARB to cut interest rates next week. And further out we think that rates will be lowered by more than the consensus and …
25th July 2025
US tariffs have hit South Africa’s auto sector hard, but the sector also faces deeper structural challenges, including weaker demand growth in key export markets and competition from Chinese producers. All of this reinforces the idea that structural …
23rd July 2025
Core inflation slowdown sets the stage for more rate cuts South Africa’s headline inflation rate may have edged up to 3.0% y/y in June, but the further easing of core inflation suggests the SARB should remain unworried about underlying price pressures. …
The rebasing exercise by Nigeria’s statistics office means that the economy is now estimated to be more than 30% larger than previously thought. While the national accounts data now better reflect the size and composition of the economy, it doesn’t change …
22nd July 2025
Underlying inflation worries prevent start of easing cycle, for now The Central Bank of Nigeria left its policy rate on hold at 27.50% today and, while Governor Cardoso emphasised that policy will need to be kept tight to get inflation down to the MPC’s …
Nigeria’s bumpy disinflation could delay rate cuts Nigeria’s inflation slowed for a third consecutive month in June and, while real rates are firmly positive and the naira stable, underlying inflation dynamics remain concerning and suggest the CBN will …
18th July 2025
May’s activity figures suggest that South Africa’s economic recovery remains slow and bumpy. While industry appears to have fared better recently, consumer-facing sectors appear to be losing steam. For now, though, tailwinds from looser monetary policy, …
16th July 2025
A lowering of the South Africa’s inflation target is being hotly debated among policymakers and we are now factoring in a change to the target, from 3-6% now to 3±1%, into our forecasts. The Reserve Bank is unlikely to have a problem meeting the new …
15th July 2025
Trump keeps South Africa in his tariff crosshairs South Africa was threatened with a 30% reciprocal tariff again and, while the economic hit should be manageable, the uneasy relationship with the US suggests that an even higher tariff rate remains a …
11th July 2025
We think there’s a much larger negative output gap in South Africa’s economy than is widely assumed, which will keep inflation around 3%, rather than rise towards 4.5% as the Reserve Bank (SARB) and the consensus expect. That should give policymakers room …
7th July 2025
SARB’s lower inflation target proposal looks close A backdrop of subdued price pressures and declining inflation expectations strengthen the argument that a lower inflation target could bring even deeper interest cuts onto the table. Reserve Bank Governor …
4th July 2025
Protests have erupted again in Kenya recently, bringing violence and instability, and highlighting that the government lacks the political capital to repair the fragile fiscal position. With international borrowing costs prohibitively high, financing …
3rd July 2025
GNU’s first birthday: fights holding back reform Next week marks a year in office for South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU). Both investor sentiment and supply conditions have improved under their watch, but persistent intra-party disputes …
27th June 2025
Africa Chart Pack (Jun. 2025) …
25th June 2025
Overview – The threat posed by US trade protectionism to the region, for now, appears muted. An improvement in the terms of trade for most countries should mean less downward pressure on currencies and, alongside low inflation, set the stage for more …
23rd June 2025
Israel-Iran and what it means for Africa The Israel-Iran conflict has caused a jump in oil prices over the past week and there’s a clear risk of further escalation that pushes prices up even higher. That would spell bad news for most African economies, …
20th June 2025
April’s activity data suggest that the weakness of South Africa’s economy in the first quarter of the year – in which GDP expanded by a measly 0.1% q/q – carried over into the start of Q2. Industry continued to struggle and the retail sector lost some …
18th June 2025
Low inflation suggests SARB’s easing cycle has more room to run The fact that South Africa’s headline inflation was unchanged at 2.8% y/y in May, lends more evidence that the SARB should be unworried about underlying price pressures in the economy. Coming …
China senses an opportunity as the US disengages China’s pledge to provide tariff-free access to imports from Africa is a clear effort to strengthen ties as the US disengages from the region, and also appears to be a concessions to African leaders …
13th June 2025
The overnight strikes by Israel on Iran mark a major escalation in the conflict in the region and, with the oil market tighter than it was a few months ago, the risks to oil prices look more balanced than we’d previously thought (rather than skewed to the …
Nigeria floods: worse to come? The flooding Nigeria has faced in recent weeks has claimed scores of lives and, while the economic hit should be limited, the country’s vulnerability to further climate challenges is worryingly high. We should first note the …
6th June 2025
Growth slowdown strengthens case for more rate cuts South Africa’s muted 0.1% q/q growth in the first quarter of the year on the back of a downwardly revised 0.4% expansion in Q4 of last year suggests the recovery is losing momentum. That will only …
3rd June 2025
Tinubu’s two-year anniversary in power It’s two years since Bola Tinubu became president of Nigeria and with support waning, he’s announced ambitious spending plans funded by foreign loans. But with borrowing costs high, we suspect these plans won’t …
30th May 2025
This report is part of our Future of Europe series. Read more analysis, explore the supporting data, and learn about our broader European coverage on the dedicated Future of Europe page. Europe is being buffeted by geopolitical and geoeconomic shifts but, …
The South African Reserve bank resumed its interest rate easing cycle today, with a 25bp cut to 7.25%, and there was a marked dovish shift among the MPC, suggesting – as we have long thought – that the repo rate will decline further over this year. The …
29th May 2025
In this Update, we answer several key questions about how the US Court of International Trade (CIT) tariff ruling might affect the US and other economies. The outlook may now rest on the decision of the Republican-stacked Supreme Court. The upside risks …
Africa Chart Pack (May. 2025) …
28th May 2025
SA budget merely presses pause on fiscal debate South Africa’s finance minister appears to have succeeded – at the third time of asking – at delivering a 2025 Budget that will make it through parliament. But it seems almost certain that tensions within …
23rd May 2025
We will be hosting a Drop-In at 3pm BST to discuss the key takeaways from the Budget and to answer your questions. Register here . South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s third attempt at delivering the 2025 Budget should have enough support …
21st May 2025
Inflation stays low, but inflation target change may keep SARB on hold The rise in South Africa’s headline inflation to 2.8% y/y still left it below the lower bound of the Reserve Bank’s 3-6% target range and, ordinarily, would make us more confident that …
Rates on hold with CBN in wait-and-see mode The Central Bank of Nigeria left its policy rate on hold at 27.50% today and, with the disinflation progressing slowly and concerns that low oil prices will put downward pressure on the naira, it looks like it …
20th May 2025
GNU will struggle to fill VAT hike-related hole South Africa’s finance minister takes his third stab at delivering the 2025 Budget on Wednesday. Disputes within the ruling GNU seem to have been resolved but this may come at the cost of slippage on …
16th May 2025
Nigeria’s long-running security challenges have brought obvious human costs, and they have also contributed to the economy’s woes by hurting output in the agriculture and oil sectors, weakening demand, and putting off investment. President Tinubu’s …
15th May 2025
The recent climbdown has left the effective US tariff rate on the rest of the world at around 15% as opposed to the 27% which was threatened at the height of this year’s trade war. While this is still the highest since the 1930s, it is unlikely to cause a …
13th May 2025
Global Trade Stress Monitor …
The US and China have each suspended for 90 days all but 10% of their Liberation Day tariffs and cancelled other retaliatory tariffs. This is a substantial de-escalation. However, the US still has much higher tariffs on China than on other countries and …
12th May 2025
Fiscal slippage appears more likely across SSA Leaders across Sub-Saharan Africa faced with fiscal strains are increasingly embracing tax reform rather than rises. Banking on the former to quickly raise revenue is ambitious and we think this risks further …
9th May 2025
SA 2025 Budget: fiscal slippage is coming South Africa’s 2025 Budget will be tabled for a third time later this month and, to be approved, we think the ANC and DA will need to agree on some spending cuts, although it probably won’t be enough to avoid some …
2nd May 2025
The prospect of a flood of low-cost Chinese exports to African shores may help those economies suffering from high inflation but it risks undermining the growth of domestic industry. Governments in the likes of Nigeria, with a history of employing …
1st May 2025
