African Markets – Factors to watch on Dec 19

The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Friday.

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GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian share markets held Wall Street-driven gains on Friday while the yen eased after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a three-decade high and left the door wide open to further tightening.

WORLD OIL PRICES

Oil prices fell in early trading on Friday and were set to close lower for a second straight week, as rising prospects of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal offset concerns over supply disruptions from a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers.

EMERGING MARKETS

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AFRICA STOCKS

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SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS

The South African rand was little changed on Thursday as investors assessed November producer inflation data for clues on the health of Africa’s largest economy.

GHANA FINANCING

Ghana’s parliament on Thursday approved amendments to the Bank of Ghana Act, imposing stricter limits on central bank financing of the government to safeguard its independence.

ZAMBIA IMF

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it has reached a staff-level agreement with Zambia on the sixth and final review of its Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement, with the country receiving a disbursement of about $190 million.

UGANDA DEBT

Uganda plans to cut its domestic debt issuance by 21.1% in the financial year starting July from the previous period to help trim its ballooning public debt, the finance ministry said in a budget paper seen by Reuters on Thursday.

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((Compiled by Nairobi Newsroom))

((Email: nairobi.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com))