SOUTH AFRICA
Analyst
Iraj Abedian
Former Member, President’s Panel of Economic AdvisorsDatabanks
Recent Country Insights
GDP grows for four consecutive quarters
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 02 Dec 2025
The South African economy registered its fourth consecutive quarterly expansion during the third quarter of 2025, as real GDP increased by 0.5% q/q following another rise of 0.9% q/q in the second quarter. The recent growth momentum has been supported by a more stable electricity supply and impro...
Reform momentum and fiscal repair: South Africa’s slow shift toward stability
SOUTH AFRICA · Forecast · 28 Nov 2025
• South Africa’s growth: South African economy’s real GDP was 0.7% higher in H1-2025 than it was during the corresponding period in 2024. The uncertainty around tariffs was already weighing on the economy in the second quarter, but the full impact only materialized in the third quarter, when the ...
The South African Reserve Bank ends the year with a 25 bps interest rate cut
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 20 Nov 2025
The South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) opted to lower the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points from 7% to 6.75% during its final meeting of the year. This follows a pause in policy normalization during the MPC’s meeting in September. As a result, the prime l...
National Treasury commits to staying the fiscal course, introducing a new inflation target amid global uncertainty
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 13 Nov 2025
Delivering this year’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana noted that South Africa, like many other nations, is navigating a period of intensifying global competition and deepening economic and political divisions. The MTBPS, tabled annually during eithe...
Eskom turns profitable for the first time in eight years as operations improve
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 10 Oct 2025
Eskom reported its financial results for the year ending March 31, 2025, at the end of September 2025. The results indicate that the entity had returned to profitability for the first time in eight years, posting a profit before tax of R23.9 billion in FY2025, compared with a loss of R25.5 billio...
The SA Reserve Bank halts monetary policy easing
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 18 Sep 2025
The SA Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at the conclusion of this week’s meeting. This leaves the repo rate at 7% and the prime lending rate at 10.5%. The SARB noted that, since September last year, rates have been lowered by a cu...
South Africa’s current account deficit widens in Q2-2025
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 11 Sep 2025
Data released by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) indicates that the deficit on the country’s current account of the balance of payments widened in the second quarter of 2025. The deficit on the current account increased from R47.8 billion in the first quarter to R82.8 billion in the second ...
Economic growth improves in Q2-2025
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 09 Sep 2025
South Africa’s quarter-on-quarter real GDP expanded by 0.8% during the second quarter of 2025 following the first quarter’s 0.1% q/q increase. On account of the generally weak quarterly growth rates, real GDP in the first half of the year was only 0.7% higher than that of the corresponding period...
South Africa’s ongoing structural reforms provide some tailwinds to growth amid global uncertainty
SOUTH AFRICA · Forecast · 02 Sep 2025
• South Africa’s growth: The domestic economy began the year on a subdued trajectory, with underlying structural constraints persisting alongside intensifying global headwinds, including rising protectionist measures. Progress in implementing government’s structural reform agenda, particularly ...