Economy

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s credit outlook was raised from stable to positive by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited progress in implementing a program backed by the International Monetary Fund to bolster economic growth and repair public finances. The country’s long-term rating was kept at B3, six levels below investment grade. The positive outlook signals that a downgrade is currently very “unlikely,’’ Moody’s said in a statement late on Tuesday.  “The substantial progress…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African inflation accelerated to the highest level in 10 months in July, driven by increased fuel prices. Consumer prices rose 5.1 percent from a year earlier compared with 4.6 percent in June, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said Wednesday in a statement on its website. That matched the median estimate of 16 economists in a Bloomberg survey. While inflation has now been inside the central bank’s target band of 3 percent…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – As investors assess last week’s losses in metals and crude, attention now swings toward pandemonium, profits, policy and plants. Crisis-hit oil producer Venezuela faces yet more chaos after its immense devaluation. A settlement of a dispute with ConocoPhillips announced Monday may help boost the South American nation’s crude oil exports, aiding its faltering economy. For profits, BHP Billiton Ltd. reports on Tuesday and the top miner will likely showcase very decent numbers; for policy, it’ll…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The government of West Africa’s second-biggest economy — its budget already stretched by interest costs that consume about a third of its revenue — is piling on debt to cover the liabilities of failed lenders and settle arrears dating back 20 years. It was left with little choice but to issue bonds to save an industry the International Monetary Fund sees as a financial-stability threat. “If you don’t intervene then you…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had hopes of lifting economic growth to 3 percent in 2018. Economists think that goal is even more unattainable than before. Average gross domestic product will be 1.4 percent this year, according to the median prediction by 22 respondents in a Bloomberg survey, which takes place monthly. This less than the 1.5 percent forecast in the July poll and is the fourth consecutive reduction in the outlook,…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s fiscal consolidation will be slower than the government estimates because of weak economic growth and a higher public-sector wage bill, Moody’s Investors Service said. Moody’s sees the country’s fiscal deficit at about 4 percent of gross domestic product in the year through March 2019, the company said in an emailed statement Wednesday. That compares with the state’s February budget forecast for a 3.6 percent gap. “Growth this…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) Anchoring South African inflation expectations at 4.5 percent will help contain price growth and limit the need for the Reserve Bank to hike interest rates, Governor Lesetja Kganyago said. Lower inflation expectations are good news, Kganyago told lawmakers in Cape Town Wednesday. The main risks to price growth are the rand, oil costs and wage increases, and the impact of higher value-added tax has been more muted than expected, he said. While the central…