ECONOMY
SA economy in 2017: Reprieve from the year’s blows
Economists predict that SA will enjoy relatively better growth and lower inflation next year as the business cycle steadies
The SA economy may be bottoming out, promising that 2017 will be a better year, but any recovery will remain hostage to political developments locally and globally South Africans are punch-drunk after a year in which the economy has been forced to endure one too many blows. From the Hawks’ relentless pursuit of the finance minister to the worst drought in over 50 years, 2016 has marked the low point in the economy’s steady slide. But at last there is a sense among economists that the business cycle is bottoming out and that SA will enjoy relatively better growth and lower inflation next year. Commodity prices are firming, inflation is due to peak this quarter, and SA’s current account deficit has narrowed significantly, due partly to better export growth. (The year-to-October trade deficit is only R14bn, against R60bn last year.) Slight recovery If SA can avoid a downgrade to junk, and if Pravin Gordhan can hang on to the post of finance minister, the economy is likely to stage a we...
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