SA Agribusiness Records $660m Trade Surplus in the First Quarter 28 May 2019 – Data from the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz), which represents commercial farmers and agribusiness enterprises, yesterday showed that the sector weathered the tough start to the year and recorded a trade surplus of $660 million (R9.53 billion) in the first quarter, up 11 percent from […]

First Signs of the President’s New Government Emerge Commentary:  27th May 2019 Global stock markets were once again rattled last week by news that America has decided, based on national security concerns, to restrict US companies from doing business with China’s Huawei. This has serious implications for global trade. Huawei is the world’s second largest

GDP Growth Revised Down to 1% 27 May 2019 – South Africa’s 2019 GDP estimated growth rate had dropped to 1% for 2019, said the South African Reserve Bank yesterday. In a statement issued by SARB governor, Lesetja Kganyago, based on the short term indicators and negative growth in mining and manufacturing – GDP is

Divisions Emerge as Sarb Holds Rates, Cuts Growth Outlook Sarb says inflation is falling but should go lower. 24 May 2019 – A divided South African central bank kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday, judging that signs of easing inflation and a slowing economy, that it believes shrank in the first quarter, were not strong

April Consumer Price Inflation Stays in Target Range 23 May 2019 – Annual headline consumer price inflation for April has moderated to 4.4% Stats SA announced on Wednesday morning, a figure in line with the expectations of economists.  This is within the target range of between 3% and 6% set by the SA Reserve Bank, and slightly down

South Africa’s Economy May be Nearing the End of Its Slump 22 May 2019 – After years of slow grow South Africa may be over the worst, and could start seeing growth by 2021/22 according to leading economist Mike Schüssler. Schüssler, owner of economic consultancy economists.co.za, said the first quarter will likely be a disaster

No Changes Expected From Reserve Bank and S&P Despite weak economic growth and low inflation, an interest rate cut and a rating downgrade are not likely ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: 20 May 2019 – Despite weak economic growth and low inflation in recent months, an interest rate cut this week is not likely — and neither

South Africa’s Economy May be Recovering in Q2 2019, but Q1 was not a Hard Act to Follow 17 May 2019 – When South Africans went to the polls on 8 May, they may have voted against the backdrop of a recovering economy. Don’t break out the Champagne just yet. A slew of data suggests the

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