Current Account in South Africa
South Africa - Current Account
Available data points to a downturn in the third quarter following the second quarter’s upswing, as a series of breakdowns in Eskom’s coal power plants triggered a burst of rolling blackouts. Consequently, electricity supply swung to contraction in the quarter, as the debt-ridden state-owned utility struggles to stay afloat, hampering overall activity. Moreover, manufacturing production and business confidence both fell in Q3, while retail sales growth slowed in the first two months of the quarter. On 1 November, Moody’s opted to uphold its rating on the country’s sovereign debt rather than downgrade to junk, despite the medium-term budget policy statement released on 30 October revealing a bleak fiscal picture ahead. The outlook, however, was cut from stable to negative, underlining the material risk that the government will likely fail to restore fiscal discipline, especially given an apparent lack of political capital to implement tough reforms. This suggests that the country is unlikely to retain its final investment-grade rating in the medium-term; a downgrade to junk would trigger sizeable capital outflows.South Africa - Current Account Data
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Account (% of GDP) | -5.8 | -5.1 | -4.6 | -2.9 | -2.5 |
South Africa Current Account Chart
Source: South African Reserve Bank and FocusEconomics calculations.
South Africa Facts
| Value | Change | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bond Yield | 8.10 | 0.29 % | Sep 04 |
| Exchange Rate | 14.81 | -0.21 % | Sep 04 |
| Stock Market | 0.1 | -0.44 % | Sep 04 |
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Economic News
South Africa: Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement lays bare fiscal deterioration, threatening South Africa’s debt ratings
November 11, 2019
The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) presented by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on 30 October revealed the bleak state of South Africa’s public finances, with budget shortfalls projected to exceed over 6.0% of GDP over the next three years.
South Africa: Manufacturing production contracts more sharply in September
November 7, 2019
Manufacturing output fell 2.4% year-on-year in September following a revised 1.5% drop in August (previously reported: -1.8% year-on-year).
South Africa: Business conditions worsen for the sixth consecutive month in October
November 5, 2019
Business conditions in South Africa’s private sector worsened for the sixth month running in October, although the rate of contraction in activity eased slightly from the previous month.
South Africa: Inflation edges down to seven-month low in September
October 23, 2019
Consumer prices climbed 0.3% over the previous month in September, matching the month-on-month upturn in August.
South Africa: Manufacturing production contracts at sharper rate in August
October 10, 2019
Conditions in the manufacturing sector deteriorated in August.
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