Outlook | - Part 5

Kenyan shilling hits new three-year low, more losses seen

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s shilling weakened on Monday 11th May, with banks covering short dollar positions and traders said they expected the local currency seen easing even further. At 0802 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 95.80/90 to the dollar, a new low last seen in November 2011, compared with Friday’s close of 95.40/50. “Banks are covering short positions that they accumulated over the weekend. It’s trading with caution,” Chris Muiga, a senior trader…

Gabon’s Ba3 rating balances wealth and sound public finances with risks stemming from low oil prices

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Gabon’s Ba3 rating is supported by its oil- wealth, relatively sound public finances and membership of the Franc Zone, Moody’s Investors Service says in its latest Credit Analysis for the country published recently. However, a relatively undiversified economy and the government’s reliance on oil-derived revenue are among the factors which constrain its rating. “The key challenge for Gabon’s government is to stick to its plan to diversify the economy, while maintaining sound public finances at…

Chad to receive $1.1 billion debt relief – finance minister

Posted on by The Editorial Team

DAKAR, April 28 (Reuters) – Chad will receive $1.1 billion in debt relief after completion of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), its finance minister said on Tuesday. Kordje Bedoumra said in an interview that the oil-producing central African nation – one of the poorest countries on earth – had cut its growth forecast for this year to 5 percent, from 7 percent in 2014,…

Africa to add more to workforce in 2035 than world combined

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Growth in SSA should remain robust but decelerate in the wake of the decline in oil and commodity prices. This is according to the IMF’s latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa which projects that the region’s economy is set to register another year of solid performance, by expanding at 4.5% in 2015. While this rate will be at the lower end of the range experienced over the last few years, SSA will remain among…

Continued Weakness in Commodity Markets May Signal Long Term Easing of Prices

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Well-supplied markets are continuing to drive down prices of commodities, across the board, says the latest issue of the World Bank’s Commodity Markets Outlook (CMO), released today. Most indices edged further down during the first quarter of 2015, with food down 7.3 percent, crude oil down 13 percent and metals down 9 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. Prices are expected to stay weak for the rest of this year, with only a…

African Inflation Snapshot: March 2015

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Angola’s inflation rises to 7.87 percent: Angola’s consumer inflation edged up to 7.87 percent year-on-year in March from 7.73 percent in February, according to data from the statistics office. On a month-on-month basis, prices rose 0.63 percent after a 0.76 percent increase previously. Botswana’s CPI remains unchanged at 2.8 percent: Botswana’s consumer inflation was steady at 2.8 percent year-on-year in March from the previous month, according to data from the statistics office. Whereas inflation increased…

Despite the End of the Commodity Boom, African Countries Can Sustain Their Growth

Posted on by The Editorial Team

The World Bank Group forecasts that economic growth for African countries will slow in 2015 to 4.0 percent from 4.5 percent in 2014, a downturn which largely reflects the sharp fall in global prices for oil and other key commodities. At a seminar with African finance ministers, central bankers and their delegations during the World Bank Group Spring Meetings, the Bank’s Africa Chief Economist Francisco Ferreira explained that his 2015 forecast was below the 4.4…

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