SA a global growth champ in 2017 after terrible 2016

Last year’s “annus horribilis” has set up South Africa’s economy for the third-highest growth in 2017 among G20 nations as it returns to an even keel.

The wider expectation is that 62 economies are slated for an improvement compared with last year, while 33 will see a deterioration, according to the latest Bloomberg consensus outlook.

Near the top of the list are Argentina and Brazil, both set to shift from contraction to expansion, along with energy exporters Nigeria and Russia thanks to a rebound in the price of oil.

While Venezuela boasts the biggest economic improvement — 7.5 percentage points from 2016 to 2017 — it’s still facing a deep crisis.

Instead look to Brazil as the real poster child of 2017, where growth has picked up as the country recovers from its worst recession in a century.

Brazil is benefiting from rising commodity prices. A similar dynamic is at play in Argentina, where growth is set to accelerate by over five percentage points this year.

The US is in line for a respectable growth boost this year to 2.3%, while China and India will remain the envies of the world — growing by 6.5% or more each — even as they’re both expected to slow marginally compared to 2016.

The projected speed of growth in South Africa may be slightly misleading, as there are few signs of underlying strength in the economy and more of a reflection of just how bad 2016 was for the country, which was dealing with a historic drought and widespread labour strikes. –Bloomberg

Argentina and Brazil are set to shift from contraction to expansion