Sub-Saharan growth to accelerate despite tighter global conditions, says poll
As economic growth slows and global trade tensions continue, the region is expected to do comparatively well
Sub-Saharan economies will cope with tighter global liquidity this year and grow faster than in 2018, albeit at a lacklustre rate compared to the commodity price boom heydays of a decade ago, a Reuters poll has found. As interest rates tighten in developed markets and trade tensions between two of the world’s largest economies simmer, the global economic wheels are expected to turn slower — but not enough to put the brakes on the region’s momentum. The recent poll suggests that Nigeria will grow 2.5% this year and Kenya 5.7%. Nigerian growth was expected to touch 2.7% this year in the last survey carried out three months ago, while Kenya was pegged at 5.8%. Nigeria grew 1.81% in the third quarter and Kenya 6%. The poll shows SA will eke out 1.5% growth this year, up from 1.3% in 2017 and the 0.7% estimate for 2018, but a far cry from the more than 5% it was running at more than a decade ago. “Despite a tighter global backdrop, we expect the growth recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa to p...
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