Economy

BMI View: We expect the South African Reserve Bank to maintain its accommodative monetary policy and keep the repo rate on hold at 5.50% throughout 2012. That said, we acknowledge... 2012-01-19

BMI View: We anticipate that South Africa's current account deficit will widen over the medium term, forecasting that it will be recorded at 4.7% of GDP in 2012 and 5.2% in 2013,... 2012-01-10

BMI View: We are forecasting Botswana's budget deficit to narrow to 5.6% of GDP in FY2011/12 and 4.4% in FY2012/13, representing an improvement from the 6.4% deficit recorded in... 2011-12-30

BMI View: We expect both imports and exports to continue a steady expansion in 2012. As a result, the trade balance should remain broadly stable as a percentage of GDP; we expect... 2011-12-30

BMI View: We are forecasting real GDP growth in Mauritius of 4.3% in 2012. A number of public investment projects and a solid outlook for exports will drive the expansion over the... 2011-12-30

BMI View: We expect Angola to experience strong real GDP growth of 12.8% in 2012, propelled by the dual engines of rising oil production and elevated prices for crude. This will... 2011-12-30

BMI View: Across Southern Africa, we see regional food price pressures as broadly benign. Prices for maize (a food staple in the region) generally remain lower than this time last year.... 2011-12-22

BMI View: We expect inflation to be higher in 2012 than the previous two years, as greater consumer and government spending add to ongoing external price pressures. We are forecasting... 2011-12-19

BMI View: Despite recent weakness in the kwacha, we believe that the fundamentally strong economic outlook for Zambia's export sector will see the currency strengthen over the course... 2011-12-16

BMI View: The South African economy is poised for a slowdown in 2012, with real GDP growth forecast to come in at 2.7%, down from an estimated 3.1% in 2011. Although private consumption... 2011-12-09