Africa Economics Update Another blow to vaccine distribution in Africa Disappointing vaccine developments mean that policymakers in Africa could be forced to keep restrictions on activity in place for longer, delaying economic recoveries and deepening scarring effects. 8th February 2021 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly (Un)Common Framework, a little cheer in South Africa Zambia has become the latest country – after Chad and Ethiopia – to seek debt restructuring under the G20’s Common Framework, but tough negotiations lie ahead and few other countries are likely to go... 5th February 2021 · 5 mins read
Africa Data Response South Africa Manufacturing PMI (Jan.) The rise in South Africa’s manufacturing PMI in January appears to hide underlying weakness in activity on the back of virus-related restrictions. Even with some signs of a break in the clouds over... 1st February 2021 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Different IMF takes on fiscal policy, Nigeria’s funding gap The IMF’s campaign encouraging governments to broaden fiscal support to prop up recoveries does not seem to extend far and wide. While the Fund appears to be backing a pause in Kenya’s fiscal... 29th January 2021 · 5 mins read
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
