Africa Economics Weekly Tumbling rand, coronavirus containment, default risks The current risk-off sentiment means that the South African rand’s slide this week will probably continue in the near term. And escalating containment measures will take an economic toll, despite... 3rd April 2020 · 4 mins read
Africa Data Response South Africa Manufacturing PMI (Mar.) South Africa’s PMI jumped in March, but only due to a statistical quirk in the compilation process. The underlying data suggest that the economy was, in fact, weakening even before the recent lockdown... 1st April 2020 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Update S. Africa: Anticlimactic downgrade tells us little new Given the scale of ongoing global market turbulence, Moody’s decision to strip South Africa of its last investment grade rating will have less immediate effect than some had feared. That said, the... 30th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Latin America Chart Pack Latin America set for a deep recession The outbreak of the coronavirus in Latin America has developed rapidly over the past few weeks. This Chart Book will focus on the most timely measures of activity to get a better sense of the... 27th March 2020 · 11 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Can containment work in Africa? IMF takes the stage African countries tightened their coronavirus containment measures this week, which will add to economic disruptions. But it isn't clear whether these policies will be as effective as they have been... 27th March 2020 · 4 mins read
Africa Chart Pack Africa: Oil prices, virus outbreak batter economies Given the pace at which the coronavirus is disrupting activity both in Africa and globally, most of the backward-looking figures released this month probably tell us very little about the current... 26th March 2020 · 10 mins read
Africa Economics Update S Africa: Lockdown will deepen economic contraction President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to emulate the lockdowns seen in Europe and East Asia will cause GDP to fall by 6-8% in Q2. It will also be the first real test of whether such policies can be... 24th March 2020 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Update Nigeria: Oil shock forces CBN to accept inevitable The controlled devaluation of the naira will help to preserve Nigeria’s scarce FX reserves and encourage foreign investment inflows. Given, however, that officials opted to maintain a dual-track... 23rd March 2020 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Worsening outbreak, growth downgrades, rate cuts The coronavirus outbreak in Africa took a turn for the worse this week, with the number of cases more than tripling. Policymakers in South Africa and Ghana fired the first shots by cutting interest... 20th March 2020 · 4 mins read
Africa Economics Update Africa: Coronavirus will cut growth across the region It now seems clear that the coronavirus outbreak will cause greater economic damage than we had initially thought – both globally and within Africa. Growth will slow across the region, with South... 19th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: SARB makes strong response South African policymakers appear to have decided that the current grave economic situation requires a bold response, and have moved away from their traditional hawkishness. We expect that they will... 19th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Oil prices batter Angola, SARB prepares to fight back Six more African countries reported their first confirmed coronavirus infections this week, but the virus’ spread in the region remains slower than elsewhere. Even so, the economic shockwaves caused... 13th March 2020 · 6 mins read
Africa Economics Update SA: Brief respite after Q4, but another contraction likely Early signs suggest that economic conditions improved at the start of Q1, but disruptions caused by the coronavirus make it likely that output will have fallen later in the quarter and going into Q2... 12th March 2020 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Update Africa: Oil exporters’ currencies set for big falls Risk-off sentiment has already battered the rand, but we think that the Nigerian naira and Angolan kwanza will both fall further later this year when policymakers are forced to accept painful... 11th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update Coronavirus: Oil prices will deal key economic blow The coronavirus will probably continue to spread in Africa, but the biggest economic hit will come from lower oil prices. Indeed, Angola may suffer a bigger fall in GDP than anywhere outside the worst... 9th March 2020 · 4 mins read
Latin America Data Response Mexico Consumer Prices (Feb.) Given rising inflation and the sharp fall in the peso, we no longer think that the Bank of Mexico will cut its key rate this month in line with the Fed. Policymakers will probably leave rates on hold. 9th March 2020 · 2 mins read
