These countries’ attempts to reinvigorate their growth are having implications for emerging markets, leading to what the Brazilian Minister of Finance has recently described as a currency war. Although South Africa did not have a banking crisis, we nevertheless experienced the pain of recession along with most other countries.
Similarly, we have not been able to avoid the fall-out of the current phase of the crisis: the recent global developments have had a profound affect on the domestic economy through their impact on trade, capital flows and consequently the exchange rate. The economy has emerged from recession, but it is a fragile recovery.