Africa Data Response S. Africa Current Account (Q3) South Africa’s current account position deteriorated again in Q3. The wide deficit is the key reason why we expect that the rand will remain under pressure in 2017. 9th December 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: Economy headed for a brutal end to the year October’s mining and manufacturing data were both worse than even the most pessimistic analysts had expected. This suggests that, after a very weak Q3, the economy may have slowed even further in Q4. 8th December 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Egypt Consumer Prices (Nov.) Egyptian inflation surged to 19.4% y/y in November following the float and subsequent 50% drop in the pound against the US dollar, as well as fresh subsidy cuts. Inflation looks set to rise even... 8th December 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Economic Outlook Tepid recovery as “Big Three” continue to struggle We expect that economic growth in Africa will pick up a bit in 2017 after a disastrous result in 2016. But the region’s recovery will be very weak, largely because of the poor performance of Nigeria... 7th December 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response South Africa GDP (Q3) South African Q3 GDP data showed that the economy slowed by even more than most had anticipated. While the Reserve Bank has sounded a little more hawkish over the past month, today’s weak data support... 6th December 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Focus Ten key calls for EMs in 2017 Far from being the catastrophe that many had expected 2016 was – as we anticipated – a year of stabilisation and recovery for many emerging markets. In this Focus we outline the ten key issues that we... 5th December 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Whole Economy PMIs (Nov.) The small drop in Egypt’s PMI last month suggests that the economy hasn’t deteriorated significantly following the pound’s float and subsequent 50% fall against the US dollar. But with inflation set... 5th December 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM manufacturing PMI remains near two-year high The EM manufacturing PMI edged down in November, but still suggests that conditions in manufacturing sectors are much healthier than a few months ago. Emerging Europe, in particular, appears to have... 1st December 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response South Africa Manufacturing PMI (Nov.) The improvement of South Africa’s manufacturing PMI in November should not distract from the fact that the measure still points to a very poor performance. All of the early data suggests that the... 1st December 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response South Africa Trade Balance (Oct.) South Africa’s trade balance improved in October, but this was driven largely by a fall in imports. This may be an early sign that domestic demand weakened. 30th November 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Inflation in EM commodity producers will continue to ease Inflation in most commodity-producing EMs will continue to edge down over the coming months as the effects of previous currency falls unwind. This will allow policymakers in almost all of these... 30th November 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response Kenyan & Ugandan Consumer Prices (Nov.) The surprise acceleration of inflation in Kenya and Uganda raises a risk to our view that both countries central banks will loosen policy. But we expect that rates will still fall. 30th November 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Trump effect limited, but Zuma rocks the rand The effect of the US election result on African currency and equity markets seems to have been fleeting. In South Africa, though, the rand has closely tracked the possibility that Jacob Zuma could be... 29th November 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Activity Monitor EM recovery grinds on Our GDP Tracker suggests that the EM recovery has continued in recent months, driven in large part by a strong rebound in China’s economy. This has a bit further to run but we think the recovery will... 29th November 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Chart Pack Africa: Recovery yet to gain traction While we still expect that most African economies will pick up steam in 2017, the latest figures suggest that the region’s economic downturn has still yet to bottom out. Major economies across Africa... 29th November 2016 · 1 min read
EM Valuations Monitor Valuations still favour EM equities over US$ bonds Yields of emerging market (EM) dollar-denominated bonds have risen since the US elections, but are still generally lower than the forward earnings yields of equities. This is one reason why we believe... 28th November 2016 · 1 min read
