The emerging economics particularly in China and India are expected to bolster global growth through the investments in artificial intelligence, however risks to this outlook include persistent sectoral inflation, escalating geopolitical and trade tensions as well as financial market volatility amid elevated global interest rates.

This emerged at the Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) media briefing following the 11th meeting of the of the bank’s Monetary Policy committee which was held in Maseru on Tuesday.  It is at this briefing that the Governor of the Central Bank of Lesotho Dr. Maluke Letete stated that global growth for 2025 is also expected at a rate of 3.2 percent as driven by the upward revisions for the United States growth, offsets by downgrades in parts of Europe and commodity-exporting nations.

  Dr. Letete explained that inflation rates generally increased in selected economies in October 2024 mainly due to raising energy, food and shelter prices, nonetheless, the inflation rate declined in South Africa underpinned by lower fuel and food prices as well as a stronger exchange rate that was also added to the disinflation in South Africa.

He also explained that at domestic level, the economy was estimated to have contracted by 1.5 percent in the third quarter of 2024 following a 1.8 percent expansion in the preceding quarter showing that this was reflected by the sharp contraction in domestic demand, coupled with the weaker manufacturing sector and construction sector.

On this Dr. Letete mentioned that growth is expected to be steady but uneven in the medium term projected to be at 2. 4 percent in 2024 and 2.1 percent in 2025.