Against the backdrop of a growing economy with low inflation and a stronger currency, there is certainly scope for general optimism, according to Absa senior treasury economist Chris Hart.

South African business will have to get used to a weak dollar, with the US`s current account deep in the red. “This is not a short-term problem,” he says. “There needs to be more weakness in the dollar to stop the trend and more weakness for a few years to reverse it, so we will live with a weaker dollar for a few years yet.”