Global and Africa business briefs

GLOBAL MARKETS
The dollar nursed sharp losses in Asia while
sovereign bonds savoured their biggest rally in nine months after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, as expected, but signalled no pick-up in the pace of
tightening.

WORLD OIL PRICES
Crude oil prices rose in early Asian trading,
extending gains from the previous session after official data showed U.S. stockpiles had eased from record highs.

AFRICA STOCKS

SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS
South Africa’s rand firmed against the dollar on Wednesday as investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and the clues it would reveal in its monetary policy outlook. Stocks were flat.

KENYA MARKETS
The Kenyan shilling was under pressure from the
dollar on Wednesday due to oil importer demand and dwindling inflows from portfolio investors, traders said.Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta brushed off criticism of government borrowing in a state of the nation speech on Wednesday, saying it had funded the most aggressive development drive in the country’s history.

UGANDA MARKETS
The Ugandan shilling was stable on Wednesday, helped
by inflows from offshore investors taking part in a Treasury bill auction. A total of 165 billion shillings ($45.96million) worth of debt was scheduled for sale at Wednesday’s sale.

SOMALIA-UK DIPLOMACY
British foreign minister Boris Johnson met Somalia’s
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Wednesday, pledging aid to help combat the effects of a devastating drought, the Somali president’s office said.

ZIMBABWE TOBACCO
Zimbabwe is likely to produce 205 million kgs of tobacco
this year, slightly more than 2016, with sales of its main export likely to improve dollar supplies in the
cash-strapped economy, an industry official said on
Wednesday.

RWANDA ECONOMY
Rwanda’s economy grew by 5.9 per cent last year, less than the 6.9 per cent growth recorded in 2015, the statistics office said on Wednesday.