SOUTH Africa’s economy likely grew more than 2% in the first quarter, beating economists’ forecasts, an index with a strong correlation to gross domestic product shows.
The BankservAfrica Economic Transactions Index, which measures EFT-originated transactions, increased 2.4% in the first quarter. That suggests growth may have exceeded 2% in the three months through March, said Mike Schussler, chief economist at Economists.co.za, which helped develop the index. A median estimate of 23 economists in a Bloomberg survey was for expansion of 1.8%.
Better-than-expected economic growth would boost tax revenue, helping to rein in government debt and narrow the budget deficit at a faster rate. Debt is set to peak at 75% of GDP in 2024-25 before falling back to about 70% by the end of the decade and the deficit is forecast at 4.2% of GDP in 2024-25, according to Treasury estimates.
Beating those estimates would bolster the attractiveness of local
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