By Rafiq Raji, PhD
Twitter: @DrRafiqRaji, @macroafrica
Global Markets
- Asia shares seek calm, dollar rush causing stress
- Stocks try to steady after punishing week
- Massive fiscal & monetary stimulus offers lifeline
- Dollar surges on rush to safety, strains & borrowers
- Oil firms after biggest daily rally on record
Oil Markets
- US crude climbs after White House comments on Saudi-Russia dispute
- Brent down 0.1% at $28.44 per barrel (0151GMT)
- WTI up 1.7% at $26.34
Precious metals
- Gold gains but set for weekly drop amid flight for cash
- Spot gold up 0.4% at $1,475.43/oz. (0029GMT)
- US gold futures down 0.3% at $1,474.20/oz.
Grains
- Corn rises 1.5%, but on course for biggest weekly loss in 7 mths
- Corn futures down 4% so far this week
- Soybean little changed for the week
- Wheat up more 6% this week
Key African events or data releases today
[Posts & comments at my Twitter handles @DrRafiqRaji, @macroafrica]
- Namibia independence day; 21 Mar
- Guinea constitutional referendum; 22 Mar
Key African events or data releases yesterday & early a.m today
- Morocco to restrict movement to slow down coronavirus – govt
- Algeria suspends domestic flights – Ennahar TV
- Militant attack kills 29 Mali soldiers – army
- Africa coronavirus cases to rise as some undetected – Africa’s CDC
- Niger confirms first case of coronavirus – health minister
- Morocco to pay jobless, defer tax and loans for small business
- Algeria set to suspend public transport, close cafes and restaurants
- Egypt detains women who called for prisoner release amid coronavirus, lawyer says
- Egypt to shut all cafes, malls, sports clubs in evenings until March 31
- Morocco makes a dozen arrests over coronavirus fake news
- Egypt registers 46 new coronavirus cases and one new death – health ministry
- Tributes flow for trailblazing Australia doctor who saved women in Ethiopia
- WHO working to ensure supplies of diagnostics, protective gear – Tedros
- Africa Crude – Sonangol allocating May term cargoes
- South Africa power utility Eskom orders investigation into COO
- Coronavirus hits tourism industry on Kenya’s coast
- South Africa’s rand sinks as big rate cut fails to stem declines
- Tunisia reports first coronavirus death
- Senegal’s house-bound school children take classes from TV
- Sudan appoints new central bank governor – statement
- South Africa delivers 100 bps rate cut to fight coronavirus
- Mideast, Africa airlines in crisis as coronavirus stifles demand – IATA
- South Africa to erect 40km fence on Zimbabwe border as coronavirus measure
- Panic buying forces South Africa supermarkets to ration food
- Kenya bank Equity Group’s 2019 profit after tax jumps 14%
- South Africa to regulate price increases linked to coronavirus – trade minister
- Teen pregnancy risk rises as schools shut for coronavirus in Africa
- Nigeria currency dealers refuse to show naira quotes after vow to crack down on speculators
- Uganda central bank sells dollars after shilling weakens
- Remittances from Egyptians working abroad reach $26.8 bln in 2019 – c.bank
- PSA halts activity at Morocco plant in Kenitra for 2 weeks
- Uganda shilling weakens due to offshore investor dollar demand
- African Airlines lose $4.4 bln in revenue as of March 11 due to coronavirus – IATA
- Stanchart Kenya confronts coronavirus impact ‘day at a time’
- Kenya’s shilling weakens to its lowest level since Sept 2015
- Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Morocco have temporarily waived airport slot rule – IATA
- Africa talks tough against coronavirus but many wonder why
- South Africa clears quarantined vessels after suspected coronavirus case
- South Africa’s Massmart to close non-performing stores
- Stanchart Kenya’s pretax profit rises 3% in 2019
- Glut of crude swells across Atlantic basin on coronavirus, OPEC+ hikes
- Namibia’s MeToo movement on the hunt to find and punish sexual predators
N.B. Full stories of above headlines are available on Reuters