The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Thursday, March 9,2017
GLOBAL MARKETS
The dollar stood firm in Asia on Thursday and bond yields spiked after super-strong U.S. jobs data made a rate hike a near certainty, while oil nursed bruising losses as U.S. stockpiles swelled past all expectations.
WORLD OIL PRICES
Oil prices climbed on Thursday after sharp losses the session before, buoyed by strong compliance with touted
international production cuts, although a surge in U.S. crude inventories continued to drag.
SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS
South Africa’s rand weakened on Wednesday as the dollar was boosted by bumper U.S. private-sector jobs numbers that raised already high expectations of a U.S. interest rate hike next week.
SOUTH AFRICA ECONOMY
Business confidence in South Africa declined in February from the prior month, weakened by lower trade volumes and retail sales, a survey showed on Wednesday.
SOUTH AFRICA POLITICS
South African authorities have been asked to appear at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on April 7 over the
failure to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir during a visit two years ago, a senior official said on
Wednesday.
SOUTH AFRICA ECONOMY
South African diversified miner Exxaro Resources EXXJ.J will sell its 44 percent stake in chemical maker Tronox TROX.N to focus on its core mining activities and to fund capital commitments, the company said on Wednesday.
CAMEROON ECONOMY
Cameroon and the International Monetary Fund are considering a two-year aid programme for the Central African country to deliver sustained and inclusive economic growth.
KENYA POLITICS
Kenya’s state sector doctors, who have been on strike for three months, said on Wednesday they would not resume work after a government order the day before, and would wait for the conclusion of court-supervised resolution of the dispute.
MADAGASCAR CYCLONE
Cyclone Enawo, a massive tropical storm packing winds up to 300 km per hour (185 mph), killed at least five people when it slammed into the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, officials said on Wednesday.
BURKINA FASO ECONOMY
Burkina Faso’s cotton sector has settled a dispute with U.S. seed maker Monsanto MON.N over what it said were revenue losses caused by the introduction of genetically modified cotton, the head of the country’s main cotton company told Reuters.
