By Rafiq Raji, PhD
Twitter: @DrRafiqRaji, @macroafrica
Global Markets
- Asia stocks set to track soft Wall Street lead amid pandemic worries
- E-mini S&P 500 futures down 0.28%
- Japan’s Nikkei down 0.23%
- Hang Seng down 0.76%
Oil Markets
- OIl gains as US inventories grow less than feared while coronavirus slashes demand
- Brent up 0.4% at $29.84 a barrel (0044GMT)
- WTI up 0.8% at $24.18
Precious metals
- Gold rises on poor economic data, US jobless claims report in focus
- Spot gold up 0.4% at $1,691.98/oz. (0043GMT)
- US gold futures up 0.4% at $1,695.60/oz.
Grains
- Soybeans edge higher on Chinese cargo purchases
- Soybean futures up 0.3% at $8.34-3/4 a bushel (0147GMT)
- Corn up 0.2% at $3.14-3/4 a bushel
- Wheat up 0.3% at $5.19 a bushel
Key African events or data releases today
[Posts & comments at my Twitter handles @DrRafiqRaji, @macroafrica]
- Kenya locks down Nairobi’s Eastleigh & Mombasa’s Old Town for 15 days (from 6 May)
- South Africa SACCI business confidence Apr-20 [prev. 89.9]
- Nigeria’s Buhari chief of staff pick awaited
- Key African countries on lockdown or restricted; subdued economic activity
- Covid-19 updates by authorities across the continent
Key African events or data releases yesterday & early a.m today
- Uber lays off hundreds in Egypt amid global cuts, staff says
- IMF approves $739 mln in emergency pandemic relief funds for Kenya
- IMF approves $491.5 mln loan for Uganda to limit coronavirus impact
- Up to 1,200 deployed in Libya by Russian military group – UN report
- World Bank debars China electrical equipment firm over fraud in Zambia
- South Africa opposed to liquidation of national airline SAA – minister
- Africa Oil – Nigeria, Angola diffs jump on cheap freight
- South Africa Eskom says covid-19 has hit demand in key sectors
- Occidental Petroleum to continue Anadarko’s investment in Algeria
- IMF to consider Egypt’s request for loan on May 11
- Nigeria to extend ban on all flights by four weeks from Thursday
- Zimbabwe gets $7 mln World Bank grant to fight coronavirus
- South Africa Investec Property Fund sees limited impact from Edcon’s bankruptcy protection
- Forced evictions leave 5,000 Kenya slum dwellers at risk of coronavirus
- Ethiopia Tigray region eyes election in challenge to national unity
- Nigeria stocks rise for 8th session after oil price climbs
- Some Egyptians pack streets for Ramadan shopping despite coronavirus threat
- South Africa Harmony Gold withdraws annual production guidance
- Kenya floods kill 194, people evacuated from risk areas near dams
- Uganda shilling unchanged amid low importer dollar demand
- Assore chrome mine in South Africa shuts after worker diagnosed with covid-19
- Cameroon doctor faces influx of covid-19 patients
- South Africa ‘virtual safaris’ liven up lockdown with jackals and leopard curbs
- Kenya shilling firm on reduced dollar demand
- Kenya business conditions worsen in April due to covid-19 – PMI
- StanChart Kenya restructures 6% of loan book due to coronavirus
- Coronavirus lockdown pushes South Africa PMI to record low in April
- Uganda calls on creditors to cancel Africa debts as coronavirus wrecks economies
N.B. Full stories of above headlines are available on Reuters
