Ghanaians Hoarding Dollars Put Cedi on Course for 19-Month Low

Ghanaians Hoarding Dollars Put Cedi on Course for 19-Month Low

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghanaians are holding on to their dollars after government data showed the nation’s budget deficit was wider than expected, setting the currency on track for the weakest close since June 2015. The cedi was among the worst performers in the world this year after data showed the nation’s budget shortfall in the first 11 months of 2016 was more than 2 percentage points higher than the government’s target. The cedi declined 0.7…

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West Africa Oil Floods to Asia in Latest Sign of OPEC Impact

West Africa Oil Floods to Asia in Latest Sign of OPEC Impact

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – West African oil producers will next month send the most crude to Asia in at least five years, the latest sign of how refineries in the world’s biggest demand region are scouring the world to replace supplies cut by OPEC’s Middle East producers. Shipments on the trade route, among the longest for supertankers, are set to soar to 2.19 million barrels a day in February, the highest level since…

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Zambia IMF Talks Seen Shielding Country Amid Trump Risks

Zambia IMF Talks Seen Shielding Country Amid Trump Risks

LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zambia is asking the International Monetary Fund for March talks over a program that could help buffer it from uncertainties relating to U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies and rising rates in that country that will lift borrowing costs for frontier markets, NKC African Economics said. Formal agreement to a technical and financial support package would also help Zambia rein in a ballooning budget deficit that’s pushed up debt, said Irmgard…

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Glencore Considering Bid for Impala’s Chrome Waste Operations

Glencore Considering Bid for Impala’s Chrome Waste Operations

JIOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Glencore Plc, the mining and trading firm run by billionaire Ivan Glasenberg, is considering bidding for Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd.’s 65 percent stake in a chrome waste-retreatment operation in South Africa, two people familiar with the matter said. Glencore already has an agreement to buy metal from Chrome Traders Processing (Pty) Ltd., the closely held company that owns 30 percent of the business controlled by Impala. Glencore, which has chrome…

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Emerging Market Stocks Pare Monthly Gain as Trump Trade Falters

Emerging Market Stocks Pare Monthly Gain as Trump Trade Falters

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – An index of emerging-market stocks retreated, paring its biggest monthly gain since March, as concern over the new U.S. administration’s unpredictability prompted investors to avoid riskier developing-nation assets. Yields on developing-nation bonds rose relative to U.S. Treasuries, though the Brazilian real and Polish zloty led gains in currencies against a weakening dollar. Equities in India, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea and Qatar led emerging stocks lower. MSCI’s…

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Nigerian Equities Pull Southwards Amidst Profit Takings … NSE ASI down 42bps

Nigerian Equities Pull Southwards Amidst Profit Takings … NSE ASI down 42bps

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Nigerian equities market opened the week bearish as the benchmark index dipped 0.4% to settle at 26, 217.18 points while YTD loss worsened to -2.4%. Losses sustained in tier-1 banking stocks as well as other bellwethers – UBA (- 2.7%), GUARANTY (-1.7%) and DANGCEM (-0.6%) – dragged the broader index lower while market capitalisation fell by N38.2bn to N9.0tn. Activity level also waned as volume and value traded…

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Morocco Rejoining African Union Seen Shaping Leadership Vote

RABAT (Capital Markets in Africa) – African heads of state gather in the Ethiopian capital on Monday for a two-day African Union summit in which Morocco’s bid for readmission to the continental bloc will shape the election of a new chairperson. Morocco formally submitted its bid to re-join the body last year, when King Mohammed VI set out his government’s objectives of placing the country “at the center” of Africa’s development. The North African nation withdrew from the African…

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