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/ 20 February 2008
South Africa’s current account increased to 7,2% of gross domestic product in 2007 and will rise to 8% by 2010, as imports soar and export growth remains sluggish, the Treasury said on Wednesday. The Treasury said the current account had shifted from a surplus of R10-billion in 2002 to a deficit of R143-billion in 2007.
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/ 4 February 2008
South Africa’s power crisis may already have damaged economic growth, even though the country’s mines have bounced back after electricity shortages brought production to a halt. The longer it takes Eskom to boost energy output for industry, the greater the chances that 2007 could have marked the end to four years of brisk economic growth.
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/ 29 January 2008
South Africa’s critical electricity crunch has raised doubts over whether infrastructure can keep pace with an economic boom while the country prepares to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup tournament. South Africa is gripped by traumatic power cuts that have brought the mining industry, mainstay of the economy, to a halt.
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/ 25 January 2008
As I drove from the border with South Africa to my home town I recalled the refrain Zimbabweans use when pondering the economic meltdown in their country: ”surely things cannot get any worse than they are”. That mantra has helped them soldier on during the last eight years as they grappled with an ever-growing list of shortages.
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/ 10 January 2008
Growth in South Africa’s manufacturing output volumes eased in the year to November, data showed on Thursday, but this might not sway the central bank’s next decision on interest rates later this month. Statistics South Africa said manufacturing output slowed to 4,4% year-on-year in volume from an upwardly revised 5,7% in October.
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/ 12 December 2007
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In the five days that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) takes to elect a leader and approve major policies, more than 600 women and children in South Africa are likely to be raped and 240 others murdered. About 3Â 000 houses could be burgled and 2Â 500 robberies carried out in a country described as one of the most violent outside a war zone.
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/ 23 October 2007
South African companies are cashing in on Zimbabwe’s economic turmoil, boosting investments and expanding their operations despite deepening hardships, a human rights group, the South Africa-registered Solidarity Peace Trust, said on Tuesday.
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/ 13 September 2007
South Africa’s solid economic fundamentals should help it weather current turmoil in global financial markets, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday. South Africa’s rand currency and stock markets have swung wildly over the past few weeks amid turmoil in financial markets in the face of a global credit crunch.
South Africa’s current account deficit narrowed to 7% of gross domestic product in the first quarter as lower oil imports offset a fall in mine exports to narrow the trade deficit, the central bank said on Thursday. The shortfall compared with a 7,8% deficit in the fourth quarter of 2006 and 5,7% in the third quarter.
South African retail-sales growth jumped to 10,1% year-on-year in March, official data showed on Wednesday, pointing to persistently high consumer spending and supporting the case for higher interest rates. A robust consumer appetite has been the main driver of faster growth in Africa’s biggest economy in recent years, but has added to inflationary pressures.