LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Naira six-month non-deliverable forward contracts rise 1.3%, most on closing basis since April 27, to 360 per dollar. 1-month contracts +0.8% to 331/USD, 3-month contracts +1% to 342.
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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – While foreign currency shortages in Sub-Saharan Africa stemming from lower oil and commodity prices are easing, it will take time for sovereigns, banks, and non-financial companies to restore their financial health, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report today. The report, “Foreign currency shortages are subsiding but will take a time to overcome”, is now available on www.moodys.com. Moody’s subscribers can access this report via the link at the end of this press release….
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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – There’s a lot riding on Nigeria’s new foreign-exchange platform. The system — called the Investors’ and Exporters’ FX Window — is the government’s latest attempt to lure back traders who fled in the past two years. The idea is that by creating a market for some types of investment transactions, policy makers can satisfy calls to float the currency without risking an inflationary spiral that may come from a devaluation. Eventually,…
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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt is reaping the rewards of a painful devaluation. The plunge that sent its currency tumbling the most in the world over the past six months has made the nation’s assets among Renaissance Capital Ltd.’s top picks in developing nations. The Egyptian pound is now the cheapest of all emerging-market and African currencies after it scrapped controls in November, the investment bank’s real effective exchange rate model shows. The…
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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s central bank will let the market determine the naira’s rate in a new foreign-exchange window for portfolio investors as the nation struggles to revive its economy amid a dollar shortage. Naira forward contracts and banking stocks rose. Governor Godwin Emefiele told senior bankers that he would tolerate the naira weakening in the window, which started today, according to a person who attended meetings with the policy maker over the past two…
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TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tunisia’s central bank will reduce its interventions so the value of the dinar steadily declines, but it will prevent a dramatic slide in the currency, the finance minister said on Tuesday. The strategy is part of Tunisia’s talks on reforms with the International Monetary Fund. The IMF is pushing Tunisia to overhaul its finances and reduce public spending, especially public-sector wages, where spending is among the highest in the…
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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s rand fell more than 2 percent on Monday to its weakest in almost three months after S&P Global Ratings cut the country’s credit score to sub-investment grade with a negative outlook after last week’s dismissal of the South African finance minister. Stocks were higher on the day, led by gold shares, as demand for the safe-haven asset rose globally in response to worries U.S. President Donald Trump…
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