Economy Outlook |

South Africa’s Nene Sees Faster Growth and Smaller Budget Gap

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s economy will expand faster and the fiscal deficit may be smaller than the estimates set out in the February budget, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said. Gross domestic product will grow more quickly this year than the 1.5 percent predicted in the budget, Nene told lawmakers in Cape Town on Tuesday, without giving a new forecast. The fiscal shortfall for the year to March 2018 could be “marginally lower” than…

Nigerian Economy Expands in First Quarter as Oil Output Rises

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s economy expanded for a fourth straight quarter in the first three months of the year, boosted by an increase in oil prices and output. Gross domestic product expanded 1.95 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier, Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said in an emailed report Monday. That lags the 2.6 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. While it accounts for only about 10…

Nigeria Rate-Cut Hope Lives as Inflation Slows to Two-Year Low

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian inflation slowed for a 14th straight month in March, taking consumer-price growth below the benchmark interest rate for the first time in two years and opening the door for a rate cut. Consumer inflation in Africa’s most-populous nation decelerated to 13.3 percent from a year earlier, the lowest rate in two years and below the benchmark rate of 14 percent. Nigeria’s central bank left its main lending rate…

Ghana Economic Growth Rate More Than Doubles in 2017 to 8.5%

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s economy expanded at the fastest rate in five years in 2017 as oil and gas production surged. Gross domestic product expanded 8.5 percent last year compared with 3.7 percent in 2016, acting Government Statistician Baah Wadieh told reporters in the capital, Accra, on Wednesday. Oil and gas output surged 80.4 percent, contributing to an increase in the industry sector, which accounts for almost a quarter of the economy. This came…

South Africa to Raise GDP Growth Forecasts in October, Nene Says

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s National Treasury will probably raise projections for economic growth this year in its October mid-term budget as the country overcomes governance and financial problems that have lowered confidence, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said. Newly appointed president Cyril Ramaphosa reappointed Nene to the role last month. When former leader Jacob Zuma fired him and replaced him with a little-known lawmaker in 2015, the move triggered a sell-off in the rand and bonds. Policy uncertainty…

IMF Says Ghana Needs More Revenue, Fewer Spend Cuts for Goal

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa ) – Ghana needs to improve revenue collection and can’t keep reducing spending on capital items to achieve its fiscal targets, the International Monetary Fund said. That’s one of the recommendations made by the Washington-based lender during a review of the nation’s $1 billion extended credit-facility program, country representative Natalia Koliadina said. Under the plan that started in April 2015 and is due to end in December, Ghana committed to implementing reforms…

Nigeria’s Political Deadlock Threatens Economic Rebound

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s central bank has fallen victim to a battle between President Muhammadu Buhari and his parliament. The Monetary Policy Committee won’t meet as scheduled this week because it lacks a quorum after the Senate refused to approve Buhari’s nominees for the panel, meaning the central bank couldn’t formally set interest rates. That setback adds to the economic fallout from a longstanding political standoff: lawmakers are threatening to delay his budget for a third year…

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