(Business in Cameroon) - This year, the economic prospect will be positive within CEMAC thanks to the rise of basic products’ prices.

Indeed, at the end of a meeting of the administrative board of BEAC on July 4, 2018, in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital, the board mentioned the recovery in worldwide economic activities due to “a relative rise in the price of the main raw materials exported by Cemac countries”. There is also a continuous decrease of public investments and a rise in oil prices.

Comforted by this fact, the administrative board of BEAC estimates that the growth expectation should be 2.5% (instead of the initial 1.9%). As for the Budget surplus, based on public expenditure and donations, it will be in surplus by 0.5% of the GDP. The monetary mass is expected to grow by 7.1% and the currency's external coverage rate should stand at 60.7%.

These perspectives are in contrast to the environment in 2017 during which Cemac’s GDP real growth was zero. That year, the central bank’s budget balance and current account balance were -3% and -4% of GDP respectively. In addition, the money stock dropped by 0.4% and the currency’s external coverage rate was 57.5%.

S.A