Feb 12 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Wednesday.

EVENTS:

Mauritius’ central bank Governor Rama Krishna Sithanen is epxeced to hold a news conference after meeting with commercial bank executives.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Stocks rose and U.S. Treasury yields firmed on Wednesday as investors assessed the latest U.S. tariff salvo along with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s signal of a patient path for rate cuts.

WORLD OIL PRICES

Oil prices fell on Wednesday as an industry report showed an increase in U.S. crude stockpiles and tariff worries weighed on sentiment, paring back three days of gains driven by increasing Middle East tensions and intensifying sanctions.

SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS

South Africa’s rand was flat on Tuesday as traders gauged the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which risk sparking a multi-front trade war.

KENYA MARKETS

The Kenyan shilling was unchanged against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, data from the London Stock Exchange Group showed.

CONGO SECURITY

The Rwandan-backed M23 armed group in Democratic Republic of Congo threatened on Tuesday to advance on the provincial capital of Bukavu, citing a “dangerously deteriorating” situation, as Congo rejected a call for direct talks with the rebels.

MALI BARRICK GOLD

Canadian miner Barrick Gold’s negotiations with the Malian government have been suspended without reaching an agreement to end the dispute over payments, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the government’s position.

SUDAN POLITICS

The United Arab Emirates called on Tuesday for a ceasefire in Sudan during the coming holy month of Ramadan, a UAE official said, a call rejected by the Sudanese army, as the country’s civil war approaches the two-year mark.

SOUTH SUDAN POLITICS

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has dismissed his intelligence chief and two of the country’s vice-presidents, replacing one of his closest allies with a senior advisor whom analysts believe Kiir may be readying to succeed him.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC MEMECOIN

Central African Republic has launched a meme coin in what President Faustin-Archange Touadera said was a bid to raise the profile of one of the world’s poorest countries.

TANZANIA LNG

Tanzania is discussing tax incentives with investors in a stalled project to construct a $42 billion liquefied natural gas plant in the country, Energy Minister Doto Biteko said on Tuesday, adding the talks could be completed by June.

UGANDA OIL

Uganda will not begin oil production this year, a government spokesperson said on Tuesday, missing a long-standing target to begin extracting crude from its western fields this year.

UGANDA HEALTH

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Uganda has risen to nine from three, the country’s health ministry said.

SOMALIA VIOLENCE

The Islamic State armed group attacked military bases in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland state overnight with suicide car and motorbike bombs, but government forces repelled the assault and airstrikes killed 70 militants, a military official said on Tuesday.

((Compiled by Nairobi Newsroom))