Namibia CB Says Growth Slower Than Forecast

The Bank of Namibia projects the country’s real GDP growth to fall from 0.8% in 2017 to 0.6% in 2018 and rise to 1.9% in 2019, AllAfrica reported. However, the growth projections are weaker than the 1.4% and 2.1% forecast in February 2018, reflecting the disappointing growth rate for 2017 that was published in the Preliminary National Accounts for 2017. Earlier expectations about growth in the uranium sub-sector have also been lowered, given the sustained weakness in international uranium prices and domestic producers’ response to it. The BoN’s July 2018 Economic Outlook Update, published on Friday, noted that the country’s consumer price inflation rate, that averaged 6.2% in 2017, is projected to moderate to around 4% and 4.5% in 2018 and 2019, respectively. “Risks to domestic growth include a meager recovery in the country’s trading partners, slow recovery in international commodity prices particularly for uranium, undue exchange rate volatility and uncertainty about weather conditions. Should the economic recovery in Angola stall, it would also continue to reverberate in sectors such as wholesale and retail trade, education and real estate and business services, worsening growth prospects in these sectors.