NEWS

Weekly Economic Briefing

WEEK ENDING

11 JANUARY 2019

HIGHLIGHTS

South Africa

1. The African National Congress (ANC) launched its 2019 Election Manifesto on 12 January in Durban.
2. The rand strengthened to R13,77/US$1 on 11 January from R14,65/$1 on 3 January and R15,69/$1 on 5 September.
3. South Africa’s ranking in the 2018 Index of Economic Freedom improved to 77 (from 78) out of 180 countries ranked by
the Heritage Foundation.
4. The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) new vehicle sales eased by 0,9% in 2018 to
552 390 units after a 1,8% gain in 2017, slumping by 11,3% in 2016, falling by 4,1% in 2015, a 0,7% drop in 2014, a 2,9%
increase in 2013 and a 10,2% jump in 2012.
5. New vehicle exports rose by 5,7% in 2018 to 351 272 units after falling by 3,6% in 2017 to 332 467 units.
6. Electricity consumption rose by 0,9% y/y in November after a 2,2% y/y jump in October and a 0,3% y/y gain in September.
7. The power supplied by non-Eskom producers of the total produced rose to 9,7% in November from 9,4% in October and
8,8% in September.
8. Electricity imports rose by 33,6% y/y in November after falling by 18,8% in 2017, while exports declined by 4,0% y/y after
dropping by 8,1% in 2017.
9. Eskom failed to publish its weekly system status report for the third consecutive week.
10. Manufacturing production rose by 1,6% y/y in November after a revised 2,8% (3,0%) y/y gain in October.
11. The Bureau for Economic Research (BER) manufacturing index rose to 50,7 in December from 49,5 in November and 42,4
in October.
12. The SACCI Business Confidence Index (BCI) eased to 95,2 in December from 96,1 in November and the multi-year low of
89,6 set in August 2017.
13. The South African Reserve Bank’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $716m in December to $43,272bn after a $478m
increase in November, falling by $333m in October, rising by $637m in September and jumping by $1,693bn in May.
14. The Gauteng Provincial Government is the worst performing province in South Africa when it comes to paying suppliers
within 30 days, according to a report from the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA).
15. The neighbouring states of Botswana, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Namibia and Zimbabwe have banned the import of
livestock products from South Africa following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Limpopo.
Rest of Africa
16. The Egyptian PMI rose to 49,6 in December from 49,2 in November, 48,6 in October, 48,7 in September, 50,5 in August and
50,3 in July.
17. Consumer inflation in Egypt eased to 12,0% y/y in December from 15,7% y/y in November and 17,7% y/y in October.
18. Consumer inflation in Ghana rose to 9,4% y/y in December from 9,3% y/y in November, 9,5% y/y in October and 9,8% y/y
in September.
19. Consumer inflation in Mauritius eased to 1,8% y/y in December after being steady at 2,8% y/y in November and October.
20. Consumer inflation in Mozambique eased to 3,53% y/y in December from 4,27% y/y in November, 4,75% y/y in October
and 4,89% y/y in September.
21. Consumer prices in Rwanda rose by 0,1% y/y in December after easing by 1,0% y/y in November and falling by 3,4% y/y in
October.
22. Consumer inflation in Senegal rose to 1,3% y/y in December from 0,5% y/y in November, 0,1% y/y in October and 0,9% y/y
in September.
23. Consumer inflation in Tanzania rose to 3,3% y/y in December from 3,0% y/y in November and 3,2% y/y in October.
24. Consumer inflation in Tunisia rose to 7,5% y/y in December after being steady at 7,4% y/y in November, October and
September and after being steady at 7,5% y/y in August and July.
International
25. International passenger traffic rose by 6,6% y/y in November after a 6,2% y/y gain in October according to the
International Air Transport Association (Iata).
26. Consumer inflation in the US eased to 1,9% y/y in December from 2,2% y/y in November and 2,5% y/y in October.
27. The US NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index eased to 104,4 in December from 104,8 in November and 107,4 in October.
28. US consumer credit rose by $22,2bn in November after a $24,9bn gain in October.
29. Consumer inflation in Belarus rose to 5,6% y/y in December from 5,0% y/y in November.
30. Consumer inflation in Brazil eased to 3,75% y/y in December from 4,05% y/y in November, 4,56% y/y in October and 4,53%
y/y in September.
31. Consumer inflation in Chile eased to 2,6% y/y in December from 2,8% y/y in November and 2,9% y/y in October.

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Date

15 Jan 2019

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