GDP Growth |

South Africa Budget Gap May Grow to 4.5% on Less Tax, Bank Says

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s budget deficit could swell to more than what the government forecast in February as tax revenue falls short of expectations, the central bank said. Tax revenue in the fiscal first quarter that ended June 30 was 13 billion rand ($956 million) behind target, the South African Revenue Service said last month. Should collection continue to fall short of estimates, it would be more than 40 billion rand, or…

Nigeria’s Economy Expands to End the Worst Slump in 25 Years

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s economy expanded in the second quarter, ending its worst slump in 25 years as agricultural and oil output increased. Gross domestic product of Africa’s largest crude producer grew 0.55 percent in the three months through June from a year earlier compared with a revised 0.9 percent contraction in the first quarter, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said in an emailed report Tuesday. The median of 10 economists’…

Nigeria hopes for oil upturn after economy shrinks again

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria’s economy stayed in recession in the first quarter and shrank more sharply than thought at the end of last year, data showed on Tuesday, as signs of growth in the oil sector fuelled hopes of an upturn in coming months. The economy shrank by 1.5 percent in 2016 for its first annual drop in 25 years, hit by a shortage of hard currency and lower revenues from its dominant oil sector…