Africa Chart Pack Fiscal policy cocktails of 2021 Governments across Sub-Saharan Africa seem to have mixed plans for fiscal policy this year. There are signs that policymakers in some countries – including Nigeria, Ghana and perhaps Kenya – will... 28th January 2021 · 11 mins read
Africa Economic Outlook Late to the vaccine recovery The second waves of COVID-19 currently ripping through Sub-Saharan Africa will keep economic activity depressed over the coming months and, even once vaccines belatedly reach the region, recoveries... 28th January 2021 · 22 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly South Africa’s state guarantee snub, vaccine round-up The South African government’s decision this week to provide no further debt guarantees to state-owned lender Land Bank underscores the mounting pressure on the public purse. And even with some... 22nd January 2021 · 6 mins read
Africa Economics Update SARB hunkering down for long period of low rates Policymakers in South Africa looked through the recent virus-related deterioration in economic conditions and kept the policy rate unchanged, at 3.50%, today. As the recovery struggles to gain... 21st January 2021 · 3 mins read
Africa Data Response South Africa Consumer Prices (Dec.) The further drop in South Africa’s headline inflation rate, to 3.1% y/y in December, coming alongside the recent tightening of virus containment measures supports our view that the Reserve Bank will... 20th January 2021 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Update Oil price rally will ease African producers’ pain...a bit The rise in oil prices this year is likely to prove insufficient to remove strains in African oil producers’ balance sheets. Currencies in Nigeria and Angola will have to weaken further, and... 18th January 2021 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Vaccine AUphoria?, polls in Uganda, debt relief demand The announcement that the African Union (AU) has secured a large COVID-19 vaccine order is a positive step towards Africa’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis, but the road remains long and bumpy... 15th January 2021 · 7 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly 2021 off to a bad start in SA, limits to regional trade pact The near-term outlook for South Africa has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks as virus containment measures have been tightened to try to curb a second wave of COVID-19. Mounting pressure on... 8th January 2021 · 5 mins read
Africa Chart Pack Lagging behind: second waves, vaccines & recoveries The latest national accounts data from Sub-Saharan Africa tell a story of the good, the bad and the ugly. South Africa’s economy mounted a surprisingly strong recovery in Q3, and a solid rebound in... 18th December 2020 · 12 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly COVAX concerns, momentum at Eskom, Zambian mines Reports this week pointing to the multilateral COVAX facility’s high risk of failure underline that the roll-out of vaccines for many African countries is likely to be slow, delaying the ensuing... 18th December 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Update 2021 in focus: what lies ahead for Sub-Saharan Africa After the storm of 2020, policymakers in Sub-Saharan Africa will be hoping for calm in 2021. But with vaccine distribution posing a key challenge in the region, economic recoveries may be slower than... 16th December 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Data Response Nigeria Consumer Prices (Nov.) Another jump in Nigerian inflation, to 14.9% y/y in November, will probably be followed by elevated readings in the coming months. But as the headline rate peaks, probably in early 2021, we think that... 15th December 2020 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Zambia’s dance with the IMF, restrictions looming in SA The confirmation this week that Zambia requested an IMF funding program is a positive step, which is likely to improve the chances of a wider debt restructuring deal with external creditors. Meanwhile... 11th December 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Update Ghana: fiscal tightening can’t be delayed forever Victory for Nana Akufo-Addo in Ghana’s presidential election this week increases the likelihood of fiscal stimulus in the near term, which would support the economic recovery. But the precarious state... 11th December 2020 · 4 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly South African state of COVID-affairs, cocoa wars South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech to the nation last night suggests that, for now at least, the government is continuing to prioritise the economy over battling a second wave of COVID... 4th December 2020 · 7 mins read
Africa Economics Update COVID-19 vaccines and the implications for Africa The distribution of effective COVID-19 vaccines is likely to be much slower in Africa than in many other parts of the world and the “vaccine bounce” in domestic economic activity will probably also be... 3rd December 2020 · 6 mins read
