NATIONAL NEWS - South Africa’s gross domestic product contracted an annualised 2.2% in the first quarter of 2018, the latest data shows, placing a full stop at the end of a period of optimism about the economy under new ANC and South African president Cyril Ramaphosa.
Bloomberg reports that not only has the rand weakened, but yields on benchmark bonds have risen and retail and banking stocks have also fallen.
The economy shrank the most in nine years in the first quarter, which the news service believes casts a “pall over President Cyril Ramaphosa’s promise to boost growth”.
A trader Bloomberg spoke to said that bonds and the rand were likely to trade defensively in the immediate future, as markets were now “focusing on the fundamentals of South Africa”, which are challenging.
