The Markets

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa): Running against the tide, the currencies of Armenia, Georgia, and Tajikistan have been steadily appreciating over the course of 2022. Exchange rates of these currencies are now significantly above their levels prior to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and among the strongest performers across emerging markets so far this year, S&P Global Ratings said in a report (see attached). Central Asian And Caucasus economies have experienced a massive influx of people from Russia, who fled…

27 Sep 2022 | Policy announcements are coming thick and fast in the UK at the moment and have been greeted with the most significant sell-off in UK assets in decades. Is this a case of markets overreacting or have the UK public finances been put on an unsustainable footing? Will the Bank of England react to the fall in sterling or are markets setting themselves up to be disappointed? We will set out our…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – LME copper cash prices averaged $9,293.7 per ton in the year- to-August 24, 2022 period, constituting an increase of 1.4% from an average of $9,164 a ton in the same period of 2021. Supply disruptions and expectations of robust global demand drove the rise in prices. Also, copper prices declined to $8,076 per ton on August 24, 2022 from an all-time high of $11,299.5 a ton on October 18,…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – ‘’Caution is the name of the game on equity markets with expectations that aggressive policies to tame roaring inflation will continue despite fresh signs that the US economy is slowing. The dramatic fall in the S&P Global composite PMI in August highlighted how demand was falling for the US services sector in particular as supply chain snarl ups, inflationary pressures and interest rate hikes took their toll. The ultimate…

NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Aug. 17, 2022–Emerging markets (EMs) have been experiencing significant net portfolio outflows over the past few months, according to S&P Global Ratings (see attached report). Tightening financing conditions, expectations of economic slowdown in developed economies, as well as geopolitics are all contributing to portfolio outflows from EMs, particularly from China. External environment for EMs is currently worsening, and we expect pressures on EM assets to remain. A more polarized political…