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SA’s First Trade Deficit in Three Months Surprises Economists But July’s deficit of R2.88bn is an improvement on the deficit of R4.56bn recorded in July 2018 2 September 2019 – SA recorded a surprise trade deficit of R2.88bn in July from an upward revised surplus of R5.5bn in the previous month. July’s deficit is attributable […]

South Africa’s Credit Demand Growth Quickens to 7.19% in July 30 August 2019 – Growth in private sector credit demand in South Africa rose to 7.19% in July from a revised 6.88% the previous month, central bank data showed on Friday. Expansion in the broadly defined M3 measure of money supply, however, slowed to 8.28%

Trump Remains Isolated 27 August 2019 – Commentary: President Trump clashed with most world leaders over the US trade war with China at the G7 summit in France this past weekend, a stark reflection of his isolation on the world stage. The American president remains at odds with his colleagues over other key issues such

Gauteng Could be SA’s Next Day Zero Region 27 August 2019 – Gauteng is the next potential Day Zero region in South Africa if it is hit by another drought, according to Mike Muller, adjunct professor at the University of the Witwatersrand School of Governance. Speaking at the Agri SA Water Symposium in Somerset West

Is a Global Recession Coming? Here Are Seven Warning Signs 26 August 2019 – The global economy is heading into recession. At least that is the fear after months of warning signs from the engine of global trade, which has spluttered this year. Here we examine seven clues that the trend, after 10 years of

Inflation Slows to 4% – Lowest Since January 23 August 2019 – Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has reported that “consumer price inflation retreated to 4.0% in July from 4.5% in June”. It’s the lowest that the CPI headline rate has been since January, when it was also 4.0%. According to the national stats authority

Govt, Poultry Industry Collaborate to Open up New Export Markets 22 August 2019 – The South African poultry industry and government have started working together to open up new export markets for the South African poultry industry. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) on Wednesday said this collaboration was one of the key

Getting to Grips With the US/China Trade War Where is it all going? 21 August 2019 – On August 1, President Donald Trump announced that the US would be imposing new tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods. This was the latest escalation in a trade dispute that has seriously unsettled markets. The reaction was

Waning Inflation is a Sign of an Economy Under Pressure 20 August 2019 – Consumer inflation will be the most important economic data release of the week. Most economists expect the headline figure to have dipped just below the midpoint of the Reserve Bank’s inflation target range, but a surprise drop cannot be ruled out.

Revamped Trade Indicator Suggests Further Weakening of Goods Trade into Third Quarter 19 August 2019 – The growth of world merchandise trade volumes is likely to remain weak in the third quarter of 2019 according to the WTO’s Goods Trade Barometer, released yesterday. The latest reading of 95.7 from the barometer, formerly the World Trade