Selected Capital Markets, Economic and Political News Around Africa

Selected Capital Markets, Economic and Political News Around Africa

Ethiopia Devalues Birr by 15%, Increases Interest Rate: Ethiopia devalues birr by 15% from Oct. 11, Fana Broadcasting Corp. reports, citing National Bank of Ethiopia Deputy Governor Yohannes Ayalew. Dollar will exchange for 26.9303 birr. Drop in global commodity prices has hurt nation’s export earnings from coffee, oil seeds, leather, gold. Interest rate will increase to 7% from 5% Mozambique’s Zandamela Says FX Reserves, Exchange Rate Stable: The exchange rate of the Mozambican currency, the…

Read More

Ghana Bank Holds Key Rate at 2015 Low as Inflation Quickens

Ghana Bank Holds Key Rate at 2015 Low as Inflation Quickens

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s central bank kept its key lending rate at the lowest since 2015 after inflation accelerated for the first time in four months. The Bank of Ghana left the rate at 21 percent, Governor Ernest Addison told reporters Monday in the capital, Accra. Two of seven economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted the hold, while the rest forecast cuts ranging from 50 to 100 basis points. The central bank of West Africa’s biggest…

Read More

Record-High Nigeria Rate Seen Held on Inflation, Naira Woes

Record-High Nigeria Rate Seen Held on Inflation, Naira Woes

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Now that Nigeria’s economy is recovering from its worst slump in 25 years, the central bank can turn its focus to fighting inflation again — and shoring up its currency. The Monetary Policy Committee has kept its interest rate at a record-high 14 percent since July 2016, trying to support the economy, and will probably hold it there at its decision this week to contain above-target consumer-price growth. Officials can take heart…

Read More

Egypt Inflation Rate Surges to Record After Subsidy Cuts

Egypt Inflation Rate Surges to Record After Subsidy Cuts

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s urban annual inflation rate accelerated in July to its highest level in decades, fuelled by a new round of subsidy cuts ordered under the government’s economic reform program. Annual consumer prices in urban areas climbed 33 percent, up from 29.8 percent in June, according to the state-run CAPMAS statistics agency. The month-on-month rate accelerated to 3.2 percent from 0.8 percent in June. Fuel and electricity price increases went into effect at…

Read More

Nigeria Holds Key Rate at 14% as It Seeks Currency Stability

Nigeria Holds Key Rate at 14% as It Seeks Currency Stability

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s central bank left its main lending rate unchanged for a sixth consecutive meeting as it seeks to hold on to gains it’s made in inflation and exchange-rate stability. The Monetary Policy Committee held the key policy rate at 14 percent, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele told reporters on Tuesday in the capital, Abuja. That was in line with the forecast of all but two of 19 economists in a Bloomberg survey. While inflation in…

Read More

South Africa Cuts Key Rate for the First Time in Five Years

South Africa Cuts Key Rate for the First Time in Five Years

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s central bank cut borrowing costs for the first time in five years as inflation eases and after the country slipped into a recession. The Monetary Policy Committee reduced its key rate by 25 basis points to 6.75 per cent, Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters Thursday in the capital, Pretoria, citing concern about the nation’s growth outlook. Only three of 23 economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted a reduction. The cut is the…

Read More

South Africa’s Inflation Rate Falls to a 19-Month Low in June

South Africa’s Inflation Rate Falls to a 19-Month Low in June

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s inflation rate fell to its lowest in 19 months in June, creating room for the central bank to shift toward looser monetary policy. Inflation slowed to 5.1 percent from 5.4 percent in May, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said Wednesday in a report on its website. That’s the lowest rate since November 2015. The median of 21 economists’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for 5.2 percent. Prices increased 0.2 percent in…

Read More
1 2 3 4 5 6