(Bloomberg) -- Ghana’s economy grew 2.9% in the three months through September, which beat economists forecasts but was still the slowest expansion in two years.
Growth slowed from a revised 4.7% in the second quarter, according to the Ghana Statistical Service. The median of four economists’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey was for growth of 2.7%. The industry sector grew 0.9%, agriculture 4.6% and services 3.9% from a year earlier.
Growth is likely to remain muted in the final quarter and into next year as the government seeks to rein in spending. The country is in the midst of a debt crisis and needs to reach a restructuring agreement with creditors to unlock a $3 billion support package from the International Monetary Fund.
Import data already suggests “that a slowdown accelerated going into the fourth quarter,” Mark Bohlund, a senior credit research analyst at REDD Intelligence, said ahead of the release of the data. “The IMF requirement to bring the primary fiscal balance into surplus is likely to contribute to a weaker economic out-turn in 2023, with an economic recession being a distinct possibility.”
Tighter monetary policy may also stymie growth. The central bank has raised its key interest rate by 13.5 percentage points since November last year to a 19-year high of 27% to steady the currency and tame inflation. The cedi has slumped 33% against the dollar this year, propelling the inflation rate to a record high of 50.3% last month.
--With assistance from Simbarashe Gumbo, Yinka Ibukun and Prinesha Naidoo.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
Ghana’s Economy Grew at Slowest Pace in Two Years in Third Quarter - BNN Bloomberg
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment