This week’s stories show an African economy caught between external shocks, fiscal pressure and renewed investment ambitions. South Africa’s contraction highlights how weaker global trade and commodity-market disruptions are filtering into the continent’s largest economy, while Senegal’s downgrade underscores the rising cost of unresolved debt problems.
At the same time, Nigeria’s strong equity-market performance and Botswana’s pursuit of Dangote investment point to pockets of investor confidence and capital formation. Mozambique’s central-bank reshuffle adds a reminder that policy stability remains critical to sustaining that confidence.
Iran war, mining, trade drag Africa’s biggest economy into first contraction in nearly two years
South Africa’s economy contracted for the first time in nearly two years in the second quarter of the year, shrinking by 0.2 percent from 0.4 percent growth in the previous quarter, the country’s statistical agency revealed on Tuesday.
Statistics South Africa reported in its GDP report that the contraction was primarily driven by declines in mining, trade, and manufacturing on the production side, while a sharp rise in imports and weaker capital formation constrained growth from the expenditure side.
