By Rafiq Raji, PhD
Twitter: @DrRafiqRaji, @macroafrica
Global Markets
- Crude costs money again after shock crash, stocks stay in doldrums
- US crude climbs above zero, Brent at $25.78
- Asia stocks post steepest drop since March
Oil Markets
- US crude futures turn positive after historic slide, Brent dips
- Brent down 0.8% at $25.37 a barrel (0356GMT)
- WTI up $39.00 in thin trade at $1.37 a barrel; settled at discount of $37.63 a barrel in previous session
Precious metals
- Gold eases on firm dollar, but oil-led dip in equities caps losses
- Spot gold down 0.3% at $1,687.17/oz. (0332GMT)
- US gold futures down 0.4% at $1,703.90/oz.
Grains
- Corn hovers near 10-1/2-year low on bleak prospects for ethanol
- Corn futures up 0.5% at $3.15-3/4 a bushel (0111GMT)
- Wheat up 0.8% at $5.51-1/2 a bushel
- Soybeans down 0.1% at $8.35-1/4 a bushel
Key African events or data releases today
[Posts & comments at my Twitter handles @DrRafiqRaji, @macroafrica]
- Nigeria inflation rate Mar-20 [fcst. 13.2% yy, prev. 12.2%]
- Mali 2nd round parliamentary elections on Sunday; vote counting
- Key African countries on lockdown; subdued economic activity
- Covid-19 updates by authorities across the continent
Key African events or data releases yesterday & early a.m today
- Negative $40 oil reflects panic – and US crude market economic reality
- Hundreds of Tunisians stranded in Libya reach frontier post
- Glencore to reopen Zambia copper mines pending agreement with govt
- Rights group accuses Burkina security forces of killing 31 unarmed detainees
- Nothing hidden from member states, CDC experts on board – WHO chief
- Debt relief for poor countries not as simple as it sounds – analysts
- South Africa to increase welfare provision over coronavirus – Ramaphosa
- Somalia races to save livelihoods as new locust generation spawns
- South Africa Eskom notifies coal suppliers of potential force majeure on contracts
- South Africa bids to end Lesotho crisis with PM’s “immediate exit”
- South Africa rand firms as focus turns to fiscal measures, stocks dip
- Africa Oil – Angola May cargoes dwindle, term allocations awaited
- Algeria Sonatrach signs MOU with Exxon to boost partnership
- Lesotho govt has agreed to “dignified retirement” for PM
- Aid worker with coronavirus dies in Nigeria troubled northeast
- Kenya Nation Media Group reports 21% fall in 2019 profit
- Morocco Maroc Telecom first quarter profit up 0.9%
- South Africa Harmony Gold to resume reduced operations during coronavirus lockdown
- Kenya shilling unchanged, seen easing on weak inflows
- Zambia to hold IMF talks as coronavirus worsens economic outlook
- South Africa Harmony Gold to resume reduced operations during coronavirus lockdown
- Ghana turns to drones to enable faster coronavirus testing
- Kenya Safaricom forecasts 7% coronavirus hit to M-Pesa revenue
N.B. Full stories of above headlines are available on Reuters
