African economies released key data this week, offering a mixed picture of resilience and ongoing structural pressures.
In Egypt, the central bank reported foreign reserves rising slightly in August to $49.25 billion, up from July’s $49.04 billion, signaling continued external stability. Inflation figures also eased.
Headline CPI slowed to 12.0% year-on-year from 13.9%, while core CPI declined to 10.7% from 11.6%. The cooling trend reflects easing food and fuel pressures, though risks remain tied to import costs.
Angola registered further progress in its inflation fight. August CPI decelerated to 18.88% from 19.48% year-on-year, while monthly price growth moderated to 1.09% from 1.47%.
This suggests monetary policy tightening and a firmer kwanza are gradually containing inflationary pressures.
Rwanda’s consumer prices also eased, with August CPI at 7.1% versus 7.3% previously, reinforcing a regional pattern of moderating inflation.
Mozambique, however, showed a mild uptick, as August CPI rose to 4.79% year-on-year compared to 3.96% in July, reflecting higher food costs.
Africa Weekly Economic Overview (Sep 8–12, 2025)
Southern Africa presented contrasting signals. South Africa’s GDP growth slowed to 0.6% year-on-year in Q2, down from 0.8%, though quarterly growth improved to 0.8% annualized, showing fragile momentum.
External balances weakened, with the current account deficit widening sharply to ZAR 82.8 billion (-1.1% of GDP), from ZAR 47.8 billion (-0.6%).
Mining output provided some support, expanding 4.4% year-on-year in July, but gold production slipped 0.4%.
Manufacturing contracted by 0.7% year-on-year, highlighting ongoing industrial weakness. Consumer sentiment improved, as the Thomson Reuters IPSOS index climbed to 47.1 in September from 43.45.
Namibia recorded stable prices in August, with inflation easing to 3.2% year-on-year from 3.5%, while monthly prices were flat.
Overall, August inflation data across North, East, and Southern Africa showed a broad disinflationary trend, though South Africa’s external and industrial indicators underscored lingering vulnerabilities.
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