April 2019

S&P ‘Slightly Optimistic’ on South Africa  Rating agency maintains stable outlook; Ramaphosa administration urged to continue policy reform. 11 April 2019: S&P Global Ratings has kept South Africa’s sovereign credit rating unchanged at BB – that’s two levels below investment-grade level – and it has kept the outlook stable. The ratings firm first cut the […]

Sub-Saharan Economic Growth Recovery to take Longer -World Bank 9 April 2019 – The World Bank has cut its growth forecast for Sub-Saharan Africa this year to 2.8 percent from an initial 3.3 percent, it said on Monday. The commodity price slump of 2015 cut short a decade of rapid growth for the region, and

IMF Cuts SA’s 2019 Economic Growth Forecast 10 April 2019: The International Monetary Fund has lowered South Africa’s projected GDP growth rate for 2019 from 1.4% to 1.2%, putting the country among the worst performers in sub-Saharan Africa. The IMF published the latest edition of its World Economic Outlook on Tuesday. Projected GDP expansion for

Pervasive Weakness in Mining Sector is Likely to Continue 9 April 2019: Only mining and manufacturing data are scheduled for release this week and the numbers are likely to remain desultory, reflecting the continued global and domestic slowdown as well as SA’s structural economic constraints. Mining production has contracted for three consecutive months. The February

More Pain Before a Slow Recovery Commentary: 8 April 2019 Global risk sentiment improved last week, on the back of better-than-expected PMI data from China and the USA, indicating that manufacturing activity is not as dire as was first feared. Nevertheless, the slightly improved prospects in the US are not expected to have any impact

AfDB Supports State’s Efforts to Boost SA’s Economic Growth State capture inquiry, restructuring of parastatals, new tax measures and R50bn stimulus all positive for investors 5 April 2019: The African Development Bank (AfDB) has backed the governme nt ’s measures to boost confidence in the economy, including the ongoing state capture inquiry, saying these will

SA Manufacturing Index Drops for Third Consecutive Month 4 April 2019: The Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped for a third consecutive month in March, the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) has said in its recent survey. The seasonally adjusted index, which measures South Africa’s manufacturing activity, fell to 45 points in March from 46.2

Moody’s Warns of Risks to South Africa Debt Ratings 2 April 2019: South Africa may struggle to hang on to its sole investment-grade credit rating if economic growth persists at weak levels and if government debt and risk from state-owned companies rises, Moody’s Investors Service said. The ratings company sees South Africa’s debt burden reaching

Moody’s Stays Schtum Commentary: 01 April 2019 The US yield curve, for the first time since 2007, has turned negative, the clearest warning yet of an impending recession in America. Yield curve inversion is typically considered an indicator of recession as it reflects investors’ belief in greater short- term risk (where short-term bonds have a

Trade Balance Rebounds in February 1 April 2019: SA recorded a trade surplus of R3.99bn in February — a rebound from the seasonal deficit recorded in January. February’s surplus was attributable to exports of R98.14bn and imports of R94.15bn, data from Sars showed on Friday. This was slightly better than expected, with the Bloomberg consensus