May 2019

SA Needs to Focus on Africa Trade to Avoid ‘tit for tat’ Trade War Fallout Relations between China’s Xi Jinping and US president Donald Trump are less cordial these days. 16 May 2019 – As global trade analysts continue to warn about the global economic impact of the rising trade tensions between the United States […]

South Africa’s Retail Sales Up 0.2% Year-on-Year in March 16 May 2019 – South African retail sales rose 0.2% year-on-year in March after rising by a revised 1.4% in February, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday. On a month-on-month basis, sales fell 0.7%. They rose 1.0% in the three months to March compared with the

Petrol Price Increase: Motorists Could Potentially Pay R17-Per-Litre in June Being a motorist in Mzansi is a ghastly pursuit. The petrol price looks set to rise again in June, marking a fourth consecutive increase since March. 15 May 2019 – It’s not news any of us wants to hear. Although petrol prices forecast for next

SA Economy Still Contracting – But 14 May 2019 – April brought less load-shedding and improvement in the business index of the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci). The purchasing manufacturer’s index (PMI) also rose slightly although not enough to top the all-important 50-point neutral mark. But these developments on their own were not

Post-Election: Now the Hard Work Begins Commentary: 13 May 2019 There has been a sudden change in President Trump’s rhetoric around trade talks. He has increased the tariffs on $200bn of Chinese imports from 10% to 25% and hinted at the possibility of extending a new 25% duty on another $325bn of Chinese goods as

Little Hope of Retail Sales Improving Most economists expect retail sales growth to have soften marginally in March ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: 13 May 2019 – Despite better-than-expected industrial and mining data last week, there is little optimism that retail sales data due out this week will also surprise on the upside and be strong enough

SA Caught in the Middle of China/US Trade Tensions 10 May 2019 – South African exporters are bracing themselves for the inevitable fall-out as trade tensions escalate between China and the United States (US). This follows a tweet by US president Donald Trump on Sunday stating that tariffs on US$200 billion of goods sent from

SA Business Confidence Index Edges up in Cautious Climate 9 May 2019 – Business confidence in South Africa improved slightly in April, although national elections on Wednesday have created an unpredictable economic environment for the next month or two a survey.  The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Sacci) business confidence index for April 2019

PMI on the Rise for the First Time in 10 Months 7 May 2019 – South Africa’s headline purchasing managers index (PMI) finally breached the 50-point psychological mark in April, rising slightly to 50.3 points for the first time in 10 months as firms look to election results after struggling to locate extra revenues in the

Game of Thrones Commentary: 5 May 2019 The price of Brent crude dropped nearly 3% last Thursday due to oversupply fears – US crude oil stocks have risen sharply while the sanctions on Iran have had a more muted impact than initially thought. And despite OPEC’s desire to continue to curb output, its members may