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Egypt’s pound shows Nigeria must overcome its fear of floating free

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – A currency devaluation may do little to fix Nigeria’s problems unless it follows the examples of emerging market peers Egypt, Argentina and Russia and embraces floating exchange rates. Grappling with the recession, widespread dollar shortages, a budget funding gap and international lenders’ reluctance to provide loans, Nigeria has moved tentatively to devalue its currency. The naira traded as low as 375 per dollar on Monday versus the official rate of…

Nigeria tests waters for possible broad naira devaluation

Posted on by The Editorial Team

ABUJA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria effectively devalued the naira for private individuals on Monday, paving the way for a possible broader move despite stiff resistance from President Muhammadu Buhari. With Buhari abroad for medical treatment and the country’s currency exchange system in chaos, the central bank said Nigerians wanting dollars for travel or to pay foreign school fees could buy dollars at nearly 20 percent above the official rate. Some Nigerians saw the…

Egypt fixes customs dollar exchange rate to help importers

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt will fix its customs dollar exchange rate and adjust it on a monthly basis to help importers better cope with a pricing of their products after the central bank floated its currency in November. The Finance Ministry fixed the customs exchange rate at 18.5 pounds per dollar until the end of February and said it will review the rate each month, state news agency MENA reported late on Monday….

Nigeria considers foreign exchange reforms as dollar shortages bite

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria is considering amendments to its foreign exchange laws to curb illegal fund transfers and insider dealing and stop individuals holding hard currency outside the banking system, a draft bill seen by Reuters on Monday showed. But a senior member of the upper house of parliament said the Senate would reject the plans proposed by the Nigerian Law Reform Commission (NLRC), which advises the government. Africa’s largest economy is facing…

RenCap Sees South African Rand Gaining 30% on Inflows

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s rand is set to extend gains, strengthening between 20 percent and 30 percent against the dollar over the next two years as relatively high yields continue to attract investment into Africa’s biggest economy, according to Renaissance Capital Ltd. An improvement in the current-account deficit, a risk factor for the currency, also bodes well for the rand, Charles Robertson, the London-based chief economist at RenCap, said at a conference…

Rand Trims World’s Biggest Currency Gain as Risk Aversion Grows

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The rand fell as much as 1.2 percent to head for its biggest weekly retreat this month as increased risk aversion among global investors and a possible reweighting of South Africa in a JPMorgan bond index sparked concern foreigners may sell the country’s debt. At 10:21 a.m. in Johannesburg, the rand dropped 0.4 percent to 13.9520 per dollar, trimming its quarterly and monthly gain to 5.2 percent. The government’s 10-year rand-denominated bond weakened…

Market Watch | Emerging Markets Rally as Traders Scale Back Bets on Fed Rate

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Emerging-market currencies headed toward the steepest advance in more than two months while stocks and bonds climbed as the weakest U.S. jobs data since 2010 boosted optimism the Federal Reserve will delay raising interest rates. The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index added 0.9 percent at 12:55 p.m. in London, led by Indonesia’s rupiah and Malaysia’s ringgit. A measure of developing-market stocks rose for a third day, topping its 50-day moving average. Philippine…

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