<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-1-1-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-468014" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-1-1-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-1-1-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-1-1-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-1-1-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-1-1-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-1-1-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pump jacks operate at sunset in an oil field in Midland, Texas U.S. August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, March 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Oil prices hit four-month highs on Tuesday after breaking above range-bound trading last week, but gains were capped by the prospect of rising exports from Russia as Ukrainian attacks on oil infrastructure curb domestic refining activity.



The Brent crude oil futures&nbsp;LCOc1&nbsp;contract for May delivery was up 33 cents at $87.22 a barrel by 1320 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices were up 31 cents at $82.47.



The WTI April contract, which expires on Wednesday, was up 31 cents at $83.03.



Both benchmarks hit highs not reached since early November, buoyed by lower crude exports from Saudi Arabia and Iraq as well as signs of stronger demand and economic growth in China and the United States.



&#8220;Oil demand data surprising on the positive side and the extension of the voluntary OPEC+ cuts until the end of June have supported prices,&#8221; said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.



&#8220;Brent will likely trade in an $80-90 per barrel range this year, with an end-June forecast of $86 per barrel.&#8221;



In Russia, exports are rising after Ukrainian drone attacks on the country&#8217;s oil infrastructure, pressuring prices.



&#8220;Attacks will likely reduce Russian crude runs by up to 300,000 barrels per day, in addition to scheduled maintenance closures,&#8221; JP Morgan analysts wrote.



&#8220;Lower primary runs, however, would lead to higher crude oil exports.&#8221;



Russia will increase oil exports through its western ports in March by almost 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), against a monthly plan for 2.15 million bpd.



Prices were also weighed down by uncertainty over U.S. interest rates ahead of this week&#8217;s Federal Reserve policy meeting.



(Reporting by Noah Browning in London and Trixie Yap in Singapore; Additional reporting by Paul Carsten in London; Editing by Mark Potter and David Goodman)

ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-1-1-1

Oil at highest since early November on brighter demand signals

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="570" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SRCAXMTQ4FKLPJC5HUFDMXXQAE-820x570.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-467592" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SRCAXMTQ4FKLPJC5HUFDMXXQAE-820x570.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SRCAXMTQ4FKLPJC5HUFDMXXQAE-300x208.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SRCAXMTQ4FKLPJC5HUFDMXXQAE-130x90.jpg 130w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SRCAXMTQ4FKLPJC5HUFDMXXQAE-768x534.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SRCAXMTQ4FKLPJC5HUFDMXXQAE-1536x1067.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SRCAXMTQ4FKLPJC5HUFDMXXQAE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A villager arrives to collect her monthly allocations of food aid provided by the World Food Program (WFP) in Mumijo, Buhera district east of the capital Harare, Zimbabwe, March 16, 2024. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo</figcaption></figure>



BUHERA, Zimbabwe, March 18 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Residents of the Zimbabwean village of Buhera stood in groups at a primary school waiting to be called by name to receive life-saving handouts of grain, peas and cooking oil.



&#8220;We are grateful, but the food will only be enough for one month,&#8221; said Mushaikwa, 71, who lives with her elderly husband, as she trudged away with her bag of grain. &#8220;My crops are wilted.&#8221;



Zimbabwe has failed to feed itself since 2000 when former president Robert Mugabe seized white-owned farms, disrupting production and leading to sharp falls in output, leaving many Zimbabweans reliant on food aid for survival.



The crisis has been exacerbated by an El Nino-induced drought that has hit many southern African nations. The government has estimated that 2.7 million people will go hungry this year, although the real number could be higher.



The government is considering whether to declare a state of emergency, a government minister told Reuters.



El Nino is a naturally occurring weather phenomenon associated with a disruption of wind patterns that means warmer ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific.



It occurs on average every two to seven years, typically lasts nine to 12 months and can provoke extreme weather such as tropical cyclones, prolonged drought and subsequent wildfires.



&#8220;When you drive around, you will see that many crops have wilted,&#8221; said World Food Programme acting country director Christine Mendes in Buhera, about 220 km (140 miles) southeast of the capital, Harare.



Zimbabwe&#8217;s staple maize harvest is expected to halve to 1.1 million tons this year.



WFP has helped 270,000 people in four drought-prone districts between January and March but will need additional funds to feed more, said Mendes.



In Buhera, 47-year-old Mary Takawira assessed her crop, which dried up before maturity.



&#8220;I do not remember the taste of (corn) anymore,&#8221; she said. &#8220;This is going to be a tough year.&#8221;



(Reporting by Nyasha Chingono; Editing by Nellie Peyton and Nick Macfie)

Villagers collect monthly allocations of food aid provided by WFP in Mumijo

Zimbabwe goes hungry as crops wither amid El Nino drought

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="573" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/G6IQ2EEFO5PCHEPUVS6EXIGITA-820x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-466544" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/G6IQ2EEFO5PCHEPUVS6EXIGITA-820x573.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/G6IQ2EEFO5PCHEPUVS6EXIGITA-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/G6IQ2EEFO5PCHEPUVS6EXIGITA-129x90.jpg 129w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/G6IQ2EEFO5PCHEPUVS6EXIGITA-768x537.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/G6IQ2EEFO5PCHEPUVS6EXIGITA-1536x1074.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/G6IQ2EEFO5PCHEPUVS6EXIGITA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Governor of the South African Reserve Bank Lesetja Kganyago speaks at a press conference ahead of South Africa&#8217;s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana 2024 budget speech in Cape Town, South Africa, February 21, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



OHANNESBURG, March 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended the term of central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago for another five years from November and appointed Mampho Modise as a new deputy governor of the bank, the presidency said on Friday.



&#8220;The re-appointment of Governor Kganyago will ensure continuity and institutional stability at the reserve bank,&#8221; the presidency said in a statement.



Kganyago&#8217;s term was extended to 2029, which will make him one of the longest serving governors in democratic South Africa. He was first appointed in 2014.



Modise, who is currently a deputy director-general in the National Treasury, will start her role on April 1 for a term of five years, the statement said. She replaces former deputy governor Kuben Naidoo.



Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana said in a statement that Modise was a competent leader who had a &#8220;keen appreciation of the challenging macroeconomic period the country is facing&#8221;.



According to the central bank, Modise will be responsible for financial stability and economic statistics and will be a member of the Monetary Policy Committee.



The MPC will announce its next interest rate decision on March 27.



(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Kopano Gumbi; Editing by Alexander Winning and Alison Williams)

Governor of the South African Reserve Bank Lesetja Kganyago speaks at a press conference ahead of 2024 budget speech, in Cape Town

South African president extends central bank governor’s term, appoints new deputy

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/37OLJ2JEDJPEZHPKH67DSVTNQU-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-466609" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/37OLJ2JEDJPEZHPKH67DSVTNQU-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/37OLJ2JEDJPEZHPKH67DSVTNQU-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/37OLJ2JEDJPEZHPKH67DSVTNQU-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/37OLJ2JEDJPEZHPKH67DSVTNQU-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/37OLJ2JEDJPEZHPKH67DSVTNQU-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/37OLJ2JEDJPEZHPKH67DSVTNQU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Angola&#8217;s President Joao Lourenco, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing September 3, 2018. Andy Wong/POOL Via REUTERS/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



BEIJING, March 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Chinese President Xi Jinping said he would support Chinese firms that invest in Angola&#8217;s agriculture and manufacturing sectors, state media reported on Friday, as the African oil producing nation seeks help in diversifying its economy.



&#8220;The Chinese side is willing to work with Angola to implement key infrastructure projects and support strong Chinese companies to go to Angola to carry out various forms of cooperation,&#8221; Xi told visiting Angolan President Joao Lourenco at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.



Lourenco&#8217;s visit follows Angola&#8217;s announcement in December it would leave producer group the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and agreements with China on cooperation.



Xi told Lourenco on Friday Chinese firms could &#8220;help Angola achieve agricultural modernisation, industrialisation and economic diversification,&#8221; the state media report said, part of Beijing&#8217;s long-term drive to deepen economic and political ties with Africa.



China has a vested interest in Angola&#8217;s quest to overhaul its economy because Luanda owes Chinese creditors just under $21 billion, World Bank data shows.



Lourenco, who is accompanied on this visit by his agriculture minister, needs funds to implement structural reforms to cut its reliance on oil, as Luanda does not have enough non-oil revenue sources to finance its transition.



In December, China and Angola signed an investment protection agreement, while Angolan firms from Dec. 25 have had tariff-free access to China&#8217;s massive consumer market across 98% of goods under a separate agreement.



On Friday, the two leaders also agreed to upgrade bilateral ties to the level of comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, allowing for greater trade and investment.



Chinese firms have invested close to $12 billion in Angola since it joined China&#8217;s Belt and Road Initiative in 2014, data from the American Enterprise Institute think tank shows, just under half of which went into the country&#8217;s energy sector.



The littoral state has plentiful reserves of base metals and ample agricultural resources, such as sugarcane, coffee, cotton and livestock, but they have been neglected compared to oil.



The International Monetary Fund on March 8 released its Executive Board&#8217;s assessment of Angola&#8217;s economy said &#8220;heavy dependence on the oil sector&#8221; put Luanda at a high risk of missing the 0.5% growth target the Fund forecast for 2023, as the IMF expects its oil sector to have shrunk by an annual 6.1% over last year.



(Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Barbara Lewis)

FILE PHOTO: Angola’s President Joao Lourenco, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing

China’s Xi willing to work with Angola as it moves on from oil

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IOK76AEDEZC2XPP3KQR2YLGFMI-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-466482" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IOK76AEDEZC2XPP3KQR2YLGFMI-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IOK76AEDEZC2XPP3KQR2YLGFMI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IOK76AEDEZC2XPP3KQR2YLGFMI-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IOK76AEDEZC2XPP3KQR2YLGFMI-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IOK76AEDEZC2XPP3KQR2YLGFMI-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IOK76AEDEZC2XPP3KQR2YLGFMI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song &#8211; RC2GX1AXMNDP</figcaption></figure>



LAGOS, March 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Visually-impaired Nigerian Kehinde Olutubosun is a geography and animal enthusiast who struggled to find information because he has no smartphone. But that is changing, thanks to an Artificial Intelligence-powered mobile phone that works offline.



The service, launched by Canada-based Viamo in Nigeria last month, allows anyone – even in the middle of nowhere without the internet &#8211; to access AI technology.



Viamo uses a traditional handset to tap into local mobile phone networks to send commands or requests for information through SMS or voice calls.



It works like other AI chatbots and can be used by illiterate persons since it can be prompted by voice. It is also cheaper.



&#8220;For people who are not that financially buoyant, they still have this opportunity to use even as little as 10 naira to ask lots of questions that will actually benefit them, I am so happy,&#8221; said Olutubosun.



Viamo said the device was targeted at the world&#8217;s poorest and remotest communities and is being expanded to Pakistan, India and Tanzania after being first launched in Zambia.



Viamo is supported by development agencies in the United States and the United Kingdom, among others. UNICEF has partnered with Viamo to provide information on HIV, tropical diseases, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene.



(Reporting by Seun Sanni in Lagos and Abraham Achirga in Abuja; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai

No smartphone or internet? No problem; AI-backed phone has the answers

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-2025403522-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-466465" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-2025403522-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-2025403522-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-2025403522-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-2025403522-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-2025403522-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-2025403522-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Wally Adeyemo, deputy US Treasury secretary, during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York, US, on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Adeyemo said that the US is exploring options to use $300 billion in Russian state assets frozen at the outbreak of its Ukraine invasion to help pay for the war-torn country&#8217;s reconstruction. Photographer: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



MARIKANA, South Africa, March 14 (Reuters) &#8211; The United States is looking to Africa to help loosen a Chinese stranglehold on battery metals and reduce Russia&#8217;s influence over the market for other minerals, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Thursday.



Coronavirus pandemic fallout and Moscow&#8217;s war in Ukraine have sent Western governments scrambling to reduce their reliance on Chinese supply chains and disentangle their economies from Russia.



But as Washington plots a course for its energy transition it is lagging behind China, which has spent the past decade securing access to minerals needed for the production of products like electric vehicle batteries and solar panels.



&#8220;We don&#8217;t want to be overly reliant on any one country or any one company for global supply chains for critical minerals,&#8221; Adeyemo told Reuters during a visit to a platinum mine in Marikana, South Africa, owned by Sibanye-Stillwater.



While the U.S. government has launched a raft of measures to incentivise increased production of strategic and critical minerals at home, notably under the Inflation Reduction Act, Adeyemo acknowledged that overseas resources were also vital.



&#8220;Africa is going to play a huge role,&#8221; he said. &#8220;A lot of critical minerals are located here.&#8221;



Chinese assets in Africa already include massive copper and cobalt projects in Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia as well as lithium in Zimbabwe, where companies are assisted by heavy Chinese state investment in accompanying infrastructure.



Adeyemo said the United States was working with G7 allies to close that infrastructure gap.



The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation is, meanwhile, aiming to de-risk private investment in Africa. And the deputy secretary said Washington was incentivising U.S. manufacturing to boost demand for those minerals and create favourable market conditions for miners.



But he added that the White House also stood ready to ensure a level playing field.



&#8220;We are talking to our European allies &#8230; about some of the actions we can take using trade tools to make sure that a country like China can&#8217;t flood the market with things like electric vehicles and solar panels,&#8221; he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hold-accountable">HOLD ACCOUNTABLE</h2>



Regarding Russia, Adeyemo said countries like South Africa also had a role to play.



In the wake of Moscow&#8217;s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. government slapped sanctions on a number of Russian miners and mineral exports. But it left Russian platinum group metals (PGM) largely untouched.



The United States is a major consumer of palladium, a PGM used in catalytic converters, with 32% of its imports of the metal coming from Russia between 2019 and 2022, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.



&#8220;South Africa has a real opportunity to help supply the global economy,&#8221; Adeyemo said. &#8220;And it gives us the ability to take other actions to hold Russia accountable.&#8221;



South Africa is a major palladium producer, and Sibanye-Stillwater mines the metal both in Marikana and at a U.S. project in Montana.



&#8220;Between what comes out of South Africa and what&#8217;s produced in the U.S., the U.S. does not need to be dependent on sources from any other country,&#8221; CEO Neal Froneman told Reuters.



However, he said companies like his needed U.S. government support.



&#8220;You can provide loans or introduce tariffs or whatever it might be,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That is a role that they need to think very differently about and help companies that are trying to source and provide these critical metals into those ecosystems.&#8221; 



(Reporting by Joe Bavier; Editing by Mark Potter)

Deputy US Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo Interview

Africa to play ‘huge role’ in US critical mineral strategy, says Treasury’s No. 2

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="548" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TP3J7GYZQFJPRMG5M7QAFSB3M4-820x548.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-466201" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TP3J7GYZQFJPRMG5M7QAFSB3M4-820x548.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TP3J7GYZQFJPRMG5M7QAFSB3M4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TP3J7GYZQFJPRMG5M7QAFSB3M4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TP3J7GYZQFJPRMG5M7QAFSB3M4-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TP3J7GYZQFJPRMG5M7QAFSB3M4-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TP3J7GYZQFJPRMG5M7QAFSB3M4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A&nbsp;major internet outage affected&nbsp;West and Central Africa&nbsp;on&nbsp;Thursday, the internet observatory Netblocks said,&nbsp;as&nbsp;operators of multiple subsea cables&nbsp;reported&nbsp;failures.



The cause of the cable failures was not immediately clear.



African subsea cable operator SEACOM confirmed that services on its West African Cable System were down and that customers who relied on that cable were redirected to the Google Equiano cable, which SEACOM uses.



&#8220;The redirection happens automatically when a route is impacted,&#8221; it said via email.



Ivory Coast was experiencing a severe outage, while Liberia, Benin, Ghana and Burkina Faso were seeing a high impact, Netblocks&#8217;s data showed.



Internet firm Cloudflare said&nbsp;in a post on the X social media platform&nbsp;that major internet disruptions were ongoing in Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin and Niger.



&#8220;There seems to be a pattern in the timing of the disruptions, impacting from the north to the south of Africa,&#8221; Cloudflare Radar said.



South African telecoms operator Vodacom&nbsp;VODJ.J&nbsp;also blamed connectivity issues on undersea cable failures&nbsp;that impacted&nbsp;the country&#8217;s network providers.



(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian, Ngouda Dione and Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Alex Richardson and Bernadette Baum)

A Microsoft logo is seen in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris

West, Central Africa see major internet outage with undersea cables down

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/3298090388_8ea8ea9c2a_k-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-405408" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/3298090388_8ea8ea9c2a_k-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/3298090388_8ea8ea9c2a_k-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/3298090388_8ea8ea9c2a_k-120x80.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/3298090388_8ea8ea9c2a_k-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/3298090388_8ea8ea9c2a_k-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/3298090388_8ea8ea9c2a_k.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Standard Bank, photo: via Flickr</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Africa&#8217;s biggest lender by assets Standard Bank&nbsp;SBKJ.J&nbsp;said on Thursday its annual profit jumped by 27% as high interest rates helped offset rising bad loans.



The lender posted headline earnings of 42.9 billion rand ($2.31 billion) for the year ended Dec. 31, while total net income grew by 20% to 177.6 billion rand, driven by net interest income growth of 25% and non-interest revenue growth of 13%.



The top five private South African banks, including Standard Bank &#8211; among the continent&#8217;s biggest &#8211; are generally known to have well-capitalised balance sheets and conservative lending practices.



But inflationary pressures, high interest rates, regular power blackouts and logistical bottlenecks are taking a toll on their most sensitive retail and small business customers, leading to defaults.



Standard Bank said credit impairment charges increased by 22% to 16.3 billion rand, which pushed the lender&#8217;s credit loss ratio- a measure of bad loans as a percentage of total loans- up to 98 basis points (bps) from 83 bps and close to the upper range of its target of 100 bps.



As a result, total provisions increased by 15% to 64 billion rand.



The lender&#8217;s loans and advances grew by 7% to 1.7 trillion rand as strong growth in corporate and sovereign lending offset subdued retail lending growth together with a decline in business lending.



&#8220;Our clients are likely to remain constrained until interest rates start to decline,&#8221; the bank said. It said credit impairment charges were expected to peak in the first half of 2024, driven primarily by ongoing strain in personal and private banking.



Meanwhile the credit loss ratio is expected to remain within the target but near the top of its range.



($1 = 18.6104 rand)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Tomasz Janowski)

Standard Bank, photo: via Flickr

South Africa’s Standard Bank posts 27% jump in annual profit

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="531" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FVXMR5IP2RPR5GK36AFACMY2CM-1-820x531.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-466137" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FVXMR5IP2RPR5GK36AFACMY2CM-1-820x531.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FVXMR5IP2RPR5GK36AFACMY2CM-1-300x194.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FVXMR5IP2RPR5GK36AFACMY2CM-1-139x90.jpg 139w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FVXMR5IP2RPR5GK36AFACMY2CM-1-768x497.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FVXMR5IP2RPR5GK36AFACMY2CM-1-1536x994.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FVXMR5IP2RPR5GK36AFACMY2CM-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Supporters of the African National Congress (ANC) wait beneath posters of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, with a fenced-off statue of Boer war leader Paul Kruger, a controversial figure in the history of South Africa, ahead of the launch of an election manifesto at the church square in Pretoria, South Africa, September 27, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party is betting on retaining its parliamentary majority in a May election and is not in talks with other parties on a possible coalition government, the party&#8217;s deputy secretary general said.



South Africans will go to polls on May 29 to elect a new National Assembly, which will then choose the next president.



&#8220;We will not go to war having accepted defeat. We are going to war to win,&#8221; ANC veteran Nomvula Mokonyane told Reuters in an interview, adding that the party was aware that &#8220;stakes are high because not everybody is comfortable with us in power.&#8221;



Surveys show that the ANC is likely to lose its parliamentary majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to power at the fall of apartheid 30 years ago. This would open up the prospect of coalition rule.



&#8220;A coalition government won&#8217;t work for now,&#8221; said Mokonyane, pointing to failed power-sharing attempts at the local government level, where coalitions have largely proved unstable due to a lack of legislation to regulate the partnerships.



But the ANC is open to working with anyone as long as they agree on &#8220;the task at hand&#8221;, Mokonyane added.



The ANC&#8217;s image has been tarnished in the past decade by economic stagnation, rising unemployment and repeated corruption scandals involving its top officials.



Analysts say losing its majority might jolt the party to do better on service delivery, expand the economy and address other ills like crime and corruption. But coalitions could also end up being fractious and impeding already poor service delivery.



Potential coalition partners for the ANC could include the largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, and the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters party.



Mokonyane portrayed the ANC as having learned from its mistakes, such as extending the country&#8217;s electricity network to more people without boosting generation capacity or investing in renewables. Power cuts are now a part of daily life in South Africa.



Thirty years after the end of white minority rule, more than 30% of South Africans are unemployed, the murder rate is rising, and income inequality is among the highest in the world.



&#8220;We are quite certain that with our challenges and imperfections, those happened because we&#8217;re doing something that was never done,&#8221; said Mokonyane.



She criticized foreign ownership of land and mineral resources and said the ANC would do more to put national interests first, while emphasizing the progress it has made in areas such as social welfare and girls&#8217; education.



&#8220;The inequality that we see&#8230; it&#8217;s very stubborn,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve tried to turn it around, and 30 years is not a (long) enough period to turn things around.&#8221;



(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Nellie Peyton, Editing by William Maclean)

Supporters of the African National Congress (ANC) wait for the launch of an election manifesto in Pretoria

South Africa’s ANC wary of post-election coalition, says it ‘won’t work’

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Q552JFWEBJNPVFQSJPW5CKIHNY-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-466091" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Q552JFWEBJNPVFQSJPW5CKIHNY-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Q552JFWEBJNPVFQSJPW5CKIHNY-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Q552JFWEBJNPVFQSJPW5CKIHNY-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Q552JFWEBJNPVFQSJPW5CKIHNY-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Q552JFWEBJNPVFQSJPW5CKIHNY-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Q552JFWEBJNPVFQSJPW5CKIHNY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Farmers separate infected cocoa beans from a pile at a farm in San Pedro, western Ivory Coast August 12, 2010. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON/ACCRA, March 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Major African cocoa plants in Ivory Coast and Ghana have stopped or cut processing because they cannot afford to buy beans, four trading sources said, meaning chocolate prices around the world are likely to soar.



Chocolate-makers have already increased prices to consumers, after three years of poor cocoa harvests, with a fourth expected, in the two countries that produce nearly 60% of the world&#8217;s cocoa.



Cocoa prices&nbsp;LCCc2&nbsp;have more than doubled over the last year, scaling numerous all-time highs.



&#8220;We need massive demand destruction to catch up with the supply destruction,&#8221; Tropical Research Services&#8217; Steve Wateridge, a world expert on cocoa, said.



Chocolate-makers cannot produce chocolate using raw cocoa and rely on processors to turn beans into butter and liquor that can be made into chocolate.



But the processors say they cannot afford to buy the beans.



State-controlled Ivorian bean processor Transcao, one of the country&#8217;s nine major plants, said it had stopped buying beans because of their price.



It said it was still processing from stock, but did not say what capacity it was running at. Two industry sources said the plant was almost idle.



They asked not to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the issue.



One of the two sources said more major state run plants could shut soon in top grower Ivory Coast, which produces nearly half the world&#8217;s cocoa.



The same two sources said even global trader Cargill struggled to source beans for its major processing plant in Ivory Coast, halting operations for about a week last month. Cargill did not respond to a request for comment.



In No. 2 cocoa grower Ghana, most of its eight plants, including state-owned Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), have repeatedly suspended work for weeks since the season started in October, two separate industry sources said.



CPC said it is operating at about 20% of capacity because of the shortage of beans.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disruption-at-the-farm-gate">DISRUPTION AT THE FARM GATE</h2>



The price rally has derailed a long-established mechanism for global cocoa trade, through which farmers sell beans to local dealers who sell them on to processing plants or global traders.



Those traders then sell beans or cocoa products &#8211; butter, powder and cocoa liquor &#8211; to global chocolate giants such as Nestle&nbsp;NESN.S, Hershey&nbsp;HSY.N&nbsp;and Mondelez&nbsp;MDLZ.O.



In normal times, the market is heavily regulated &#8211; traders and processors purchase beans from local dealers up to a year in advance at pre-agreed prices. Local regulators then set lower farmgate prices that farmers can charge for beans.



However, in times of shortage like this year, the system breaks down &#8211; local dealers often pay farmers a premium to the farmgate price to secure beans.



The dealers then sell the beans on the spot market at higher prices instead of delivering them at pre-agreed prices.



As global traders rush to purchase those beans at any price to meet their obligations with the chocolate firms, local processors are often left short of beans.



Ivorian and Ghanian authorities normally try to protect local plants by issuing them with cheap loans or by limiting volumes of beans that global traders can purchase.



This year, however, plants are not getting the cocoa they pre-ordered and cannot afford to buy at higher spot prices.



Already, chocolate-makers have raised prices. U.S. retail stores charged 11.6% more for chocolate products last year compared with 2022, data from market research firm Circana shows.



The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) expects global cocoa production will fall by 10.9% to 4.45 million metric tons this season.



Grindings &#8211; a measure of demand &#8211; will fall by 4.8% to 4.78 million as processors struggle to buy beans, and supply less butter at a higher price to chocolate-makers, which in turn raise prices.



The supply-demand mismatch will leave the market with a deficit of 374,000 tons this season, up from 74,000 tons last season, according to the ICCO.



This means processors and chocolate firms will have to draw on cocoa stocks to fully cover their needs. The ICCO expects global cocoa stocks to fall to their lowest in 45 years by the season end.



Wateridge of Tropical Research said the cocoa market could post another deficit next season based on the severity of bean disease in West Africa.



The market has not seen four successive years of deficit since the late 1960s, ICCO data shows.



(Reporting by Maytaal Angel; editing by Barbara Lewis)

FILE PHOTO: Farmers separate infected cocoa beans from a pile at a farm in San Pedro

African cocoa plants run out of beans as global chocolate crisis deepens

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="562" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-820x562.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-464028" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-820x562.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-131x90.jpg 131w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-768x526.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-1536x1053.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo speaks at the Royal United Services Institute in London, Britain, October 27, 2023. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



March 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo on Wednesday urged South Africa to step up its battle against corruption, saying that work could help boost job creation in a country facing an unemployment rate of 43% among those under 35.



Adeyemo highlighted the need for increased anti-corruption efforts, continued work to accelerate South Africa&#8217;s just transition to renewable energy, and steps to foster growth in its diverse service sector in a speech prepared for the American Chamber of Commerce in Johannesburg.



U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hammered home similar messages during her visit to South Africa just over a year ago.



&#8220;Investments alone cannot unlock the potential of your economy,&#8221; Adeyemo said on the third day of his visit to the United States&#8217; biggest trading parter in Africa.



&#8220;My conversations with South Africans from a diversity of backgrounds makes clear that progress on reliable energy and addressing all the other challenges this great country faces is inhibited by corruption.&#8221;



Adeyemo, whose visit includes stops in Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg, said Washington stood ready to build upon a joint effort to combat illicit wildlife trafficking &#8211; a trade fueled by corruption and organized crime &#8211; that both countries launched during Yellen&#8217;s visit last year.



&#8220;We want to build upon this work to leverage international frameworks to combat corruption and promote transparency in various sectors, ensuring that resources are allocated efficiently for the benefit of all citizens,&#8221; Adeyemo said.



He noted that U.S. Treasury Department recently released its National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering, which highlights the costs of corruption in the U.S. and how to end it.



&#8220;No nation is immune from these challenges. We humbly want to be your partner as the South African people take steps to address corruption,&#8221; he said.



Doing so, he said, would create a positive environment for job creation in South Africa, given the high unemployment rate among young people and challenges in its educational system.



Adeyemo&#8217;s trip comes amid strains between Washington and Africa’s most industrialized economy over Russia&#8217;s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and more recently Pretoria&#8217;s criticism of Israel&#8217;s offensive in Gaza.



Corruption has been an ongoing challenge in South Africa, which was added to the &#8220;grey list&#8221; of countries under special scrutiny by the international financial crime watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), last year.



Adeyemo also urged South Africa to summon the political will to make decisions needed to modernize its electrical grid and enable new generation sources to come online, saying more transmission investments were needed to jumpstart the country&#8217;s energy transition and solve its energy crisis.



To help smooth the transition, South Africa also needed &#8220;the right economic incentives&#8221; to persuade companies to invest in extraction of critical minerals, Adeyemo said.



&#8220;This can and must be done in a way in which the benefits of investments in this sector are not concentrated in the hands of a few,&#8221; he said, adding that the United States was ready to continue supporting efforts to build clean energy supply chains that invested in workers and protected the environment.



(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo speaks at the Royal United Services Institute in London

US Treasury’s No. 2 urges South Africa to boost fight against corruption

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="523" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SINVWFGWQBKE5P2HMXE3TSGHTE-820x523.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-465766" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SINVWFGWQBKE5P2HMXE3TSGHTE-820x523.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SINVWFGWQBKE5P2HMXE3TSGHTE-300x191.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SINVWFGWQBKE5P2HMXE3TSGHTE-141x90.jpg 141w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SINVWFGWQBKE5P2HMXE3TSGHTE-768x490.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SINVWFGWQBKE5P2HMXE3TSGHTE-1536x979.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SINVWFGWQBKE5P2HMXE3TSGHTE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A supporter of Senegalese presidential candidate Anta Babacar holds posters as he waits for her electoral campaign caravan to arrive in Thiaroye on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal March 10, 2024. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra</figcaption></figure>



March 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Senegal holds a delayed election on March 24 to elect a successor to President Macky Sall, who is stepping down after two terms.



Below are some of the main issues influencing voters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lack-of-jobs">LACK OF JOBS</h2>



Successive administrations have struggled to curb youth unemployment &#8211; an increasingly urgent issue for its fast-growing population, more than 60% of whom are now under the age of 25.



The share of young Senegalese not in employment, education or training stood at 35% in 2019. Since then the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has further squeezed the job market.



Frustration at the lack of opportunities has spurred support for opposition firebrand Ousmane Sonko, particularly among the young. He is not running, but has called for supporters to back Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who is seen as a strong contender.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cost-of-living">COST OF LIVING</h2>



External shocks including the pandemic, Russia&#8217;s war on Ukraine and the appreciation of the dollar have hit growth and helped drive up the cost of living &#8211;&nbsp;a major concern in a country where around a third of the population of 17 million live in poverty, World Bank data shows.



Inflation has been declining slower than expected from a peak of 14% in late 2022, partly due to food price rises, according to the International Monetary Fund. India&#8217;s rice export restrictions have been especially painful for Senegal, where rice is the main staple.



These economic hardships have undermined support for the current authorities despite subsidies for poor families.&nbsp;Nearly three-quarters of Senegalese judged the government to be mishandling the economy, according to a 2023 poll by Afrobarometer.



The same poll showed that the number of people who believed the economic situation to be bad had risen to 62% in 2022 from 33% in 2017.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-migration">MIGRATION</h2>



Many voters hope that whoever of the 19 candidates wins the presidency will make it easier to find work and earn a living in Senegal, curbing the flow of Senegalese risking their lives in the quest for better prospects abroad.



Migration from West Africa to Europe via the dangerous Atlantic route more than doubled in 2023 from 2022 with more than 39,900 people reaching Spain&#8217;s Canary Islands &#8211; mostly from Senegal and neighbouring Gambia, according to Spanish interior ministry data.



There is no reliable data on the number of people who don&#8217;t survive the perilous passage by wooden boat on the open ocean.



&#8220;The youth are not working and have nothing. The consequence is that they will die at sea,&#8221; said student Oumy Tall at a campaign rally of opposition candidate Anta Babacar, who has promised to create more jobs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-oil-boom">OIL BOOM</h2>



The launch of oil and gas production later in 2024 is set to boost the economy, raising questions about whether the natural resource wealth will benefit the wider population and create jobs.



Candidates&#8217; campaigns have targeted this concern. The Sonko-backed opposition coalition has promised to renegotiate energy contracts to maximise revenues, while Amadou Ba of the ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar (BBY) coalition is running on the slogan &#8220;Prosperity Shared&#8221;.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-thwarted-postponement">THWARTED POSTPONEMENT</h2>



Recent political turmoil linked to the authorities&#8217; unsuccessful bid to postpone the vote by 10 months may have further undermined support for the ruling BBY coalition.



The move provoked widespread protests and revived fears Sall wanted to tweak the constitution to extend his mandate. He denies this.



There are no official public election polls, but of those who voted for Sall in the last election, only 60% are believed to be planning to vote for BBY&#8217;s candidate this time, according to internal government polling.



(Reporting by Alessandra Prentice; Additional reporting by Ngouda Dione; Editing by Bate Felix and Nick Macfie)

Senegal kicks off short election campaign after poll delays

Key issues shaping Senegal’s presidential vote

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="612" height="357" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-400669" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1.jpg 612w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1-300x175.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">World map with charts and graphs as symbols of global finance</figcaption></figure>



March 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Emerging market stocks climbed to a seven-month high on Tuesday, while currencies languished, with investors awaiting a crucial U.S. inflation report for insights into the timing for the Federal Reserve&#8217;s rate cuts this year.



The MSCI emerging market stocks index&nbsp;.MSCIEF&nbsp;advanced 0.9% as of 5:30 a.m. ET (0930) GMT, hitting its highest level since August 2023 and on track for its fifth straight daily gain.



The currencies index&nbsp;.MIEM00000CUS&nbsp;was largely flat, after touching an over two-month high during the day.



U.S. consumer prices data, due later in the day, and producer prices on Thursday will help investors gauge the timing of the first Federal Reserve interest-rate cut, seen in June as per a Reuters poll. The Fed&#8217;s March policy decision is due next week.



&#8220;We could be moving towards the point where both the Fed and ECB are ready to cut rates&#8230; an inline or weaker (CPI) print would reinforce our view of the June cut and be welcomed by the markets,&#8221; Mohit Kumar, European economist at Jefferies, said in a note.



The Russian rouble&nbsp;RUBUTSTN=MCX&nbsp;weakened slightly against the dollar and was seen trading in a narrow range, while South Africa&#8217;s rand&nbsp;ZAR=&nbsp;climbed slightly ahead of the U.S. data.



Among major developments, Vanke&#8217;s Hong Kong-listed shares 2202.HK jumped 10.3%, along with its bonds, after China&#8217;s No.2 property developer said the impact of a Moody&#8217;s ratings downgrade on financing activities was &#8220;controllable&#8221;, though some analysts remain concerned over its longer-term liquidity.



The Hang Seng Mainland Properties index&nbsp;.HSMPI&nbsp;logged its strongest one-day gain of 8.0% in six months, while the real estate sector&nbsp;.CSI000952&nbsp;climbed 5%. The Hang Seng index&nbsp;.HSI&nbsp;advanced to a three-month high, gaining 3.1%.



Egypt&#8217;s benchmark stock index&nbsp;.EGX30&nbsp;shed over 1% after touching a record high on Monday on upbeat sentiment driven by financing from United Arab Emirates and the International Monetary Fund.



Meanwhile in Central and East Europe, data showed Czech adjusted retail sales excluding cars and motorcycles increased by 2.4% year-on-year in January, while a media report stated central bank Vice-Governor Eva Zamrazilova said Czech interest rate cuts of 25 or 50 basis points are acceptable and bigger cuts should not be considered.



The Czech crown&nbsp;EURCZK=&nbsp;was up 0.2% against the euro.



The Polish zloty has outperformed its CEE peers in 2024, gaining more than 1% this year, owing to accelerated rate cuts in the Czech Republic and Hungary.



Argentina&#8217;s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to 80% from 100% previously on Monday.



(Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Ros Russell)

World map with charts and graphs as symbols of global finance

Stocks scale seven-month high, FX stalls with US inflation data in focus

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="527" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BC2INHB6KNOFXJ2PWMWZ7RIFQU-820x527.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-465072" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BC2INHB6KNOFXJ2PWMWZ7RIFQU-820x527.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BC2INHB6KNOFXJ2PWMWZ7RIFQU-300x193.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BC2INHB6KNOFXJ2PWMWZ7RIFQU-140x90.jpg 140w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BC2INHB6KNOFXJ2PWMWZ7RIFQU-768x494.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BC2INHB6KNOFXJ2PWMWZ7RIFQU-1536x988.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BC2INHB6KNOFXJ2PWMWZ7RIFQU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An African National Congress (ANC) supporter waves a flag during the 112th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the party, at Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga province, South Africa, January 13, 2024. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s African National Congress (ANC) is likely to lose its parliamentary majority in May for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to power at the fall of apartheid 30 years ago, a survey showed, opening up the prospect of coalition rule.



South Africans go to polls on May 29 to elect a new National Assembly, which will then choose the next president.



A survey of voter opinion in February by Johannesburg-based think tank The Brenthurst Foundation and the SABI Strategy Group estimated support for the ANC at 39%, down from 41% in October and 44% in November 2022.



The survey was modelled on the 66% turnout of the last general election in 2019, when the ANC got more than 57% of the vote.



A result below 50% in May would mean the former liberation movement would be forced to enter into a coalition with smaller parties to govern the country, a far cry from its best-ever result in 2004 under Thabo Mbeki when it secured almost 70% of the vote.



The ANC&#8217;s image has been tarnished in the past decade by economic stagnation, rising unemployment and repeated corruption scandals involving its top officials.



Its current leader, President Cyril Ramaphosa, has tried to clean up the party&#8217;s reputation and revive the economy since replacing Jacob Zuma in 2018, but has struggled to make much headway.



Rolling power cuts that have become part of daily life are symptomatic of the ANC&#8217;s lacklustre track record on service delivery.



Ramaphosa said last month that the ANC would work to resolve the country&#8217;s challenges should it win decisively at the polls.



Over three-quarters of the Brenthurst/SABI survey&#8217;s respondents said they would be happy with a coalition government.



The survey showed support for the biggest opposition party the Democratic Alliance at 27%, up from 23% in October&#8217;s survey, while support for the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters party fell to 10% from 17% in October.



Support for the newly-formed uMkhonto weSizwe party, which has been endorsed by Zuma, was seen at 13%.



The telephone survey was nationally representative, targeted only registered voters and had a 3% margin of error at the 95% confidence level.



The Brenthurst Foundation was set up by the Oppenheimers, heirs to the De Beers diamond fortune.



(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Alexander Winning, William Maclean)

African National Congress (ANC) 112th anniversary celebrations

South Africa’s ANC likely to lose parliamentary majority in May vote, survey shows

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/104893268-GettyImages-818871806.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415449" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/104893268-GettyImages-818871806.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/104893268-GettyImages-818871806-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/104893268-GettyImages-818871806-160x90.jpg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bitcoin on a mound of gold.
bodnarchuk | iStock Editorial | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) &#8211; <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/BTC=X/">Bitcoin BTC</a>= hit a record high on Monday above $71,000, as the surge in the biggest cryptocurrency showed no signs of slowing down.



Britain&#8217;s financial watchdog on Monday became the latest regulator to pave the way for digital asset trading products after saying on Monday it will now permit recognised investment exchanges to launch crypto-backed exchange-traded notes.



Bitcoin rose&nbsp;by as much as&nbsp;4.8% to a record $71,677in European trading, bringing gains for the year so far to 70%.



The&nbsp;world&#8217;s most valuable cryptocurrency&nbsp;has been boosted by a flood of cash into new spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds as well as hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates.



Flows of capital into the 10 largest U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds slowed to a two-week low in the week to March 8, but still reached almost $2 billion, according to LSEG data.



&#8220;Bitcoin has started the week with a surge, dragging the rest of the cryptocurrency space higher with it,&#8221; DailyFX strategist Nick Cawley said.



Supply of bitcoin, which is limited to 21 million tokens, is going to get tighter in April, when the so-called halving event takes place.



Every four years, the rate at which new supply is released into circulation, as well as the reward for crypto miners, is halved, which tends to support the price.



&#8220;News also out earlier that the LSE plans to accept applications for bitcoin and ethereum ETNs in Q2 may have also helped today’s push higher,&#8221; Cawley said.



The UK regulator said these products would be only available for professional investors such as investment firms and credit institutions authorised to operate in financial markets, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in a statement.



The FCA warned crypto exchange traded notes (ETNs) &#8211; bonds issued by financial institutions that track the performance of underlying assets &#8211; pose harm to retail investors.



Nonetheless, demand is picking up across the investment community.



Asset managers&nbsp;1133741ANET&nbsp;now hold the biggest bullish position in bitcoin futures on record, according to weekly data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.



In the week to March 5, the net long position held by asset managers &#8211; usually interpreted as covering holdings of institutional investors such as mutual funds and pension funds &#8211; rose to 15,531 lots, worth $5.5 billion based on the current bitcoin price.



This is more valuable than the long position asset managers hold in sterling, worth $2.78 billion or the bearish position they hold in the Japanese yen against the dollar, worth $1.49 billion, according to LSEG data.



Ether&nbsp;ETH=&nbsp;rose 2.1% to nudge $4,000, around its highest for two years. Speculation that U.S. regulators may approve the listing of spot ether ETFs this year has driven the price up 75% this year.



(Reporting by Harry Robertson and Amanda Cooper; Editing by Louise Heavens)

104893268-GettyImages-818871806

Bitcoin hits record above $71,000 as demand frenzy intensifies

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="539" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ATJS62K74VJT5CFRC7KPK6PTRI-820x539.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-465004" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ATJS62K74VJT5CFRC7KPK6PTRI-820x539.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ATJS62K74VJT5CFRC7KPK6PTRI-300x197.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ATJS62K74VJT5CFRC7KPK6PTRI-137x90.jpg 137w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ATJS62K74VJT5CFRC7KPK6PTRI-768x505.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ATJS62K74VJT5CFRC7KPK6PTRI-1536x1011.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ATJS62K74VJT5CFRC7KPK6PTRI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Farouk Dalhatu, a tomatoes seller attends to buyer in a community market of Agodo in Lagos, Nigeria March 6, 2024. REUTERS/Seun Sanni/file photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, March 11 Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Blessing Joseph has been weaving bags, sandals and jewellery earning enough money to feed her son and send him to school. But since November, she has fallen on hard times as customers have stopped coming and she and her son routinely go to bed hungry.



She is among millions in Africa&#8217;s largest economy, grappling with the worst cost of living crisis in decades, that has deepened since President Bola Tinubu introduced bold but unpopular economic reforms after he assumed office last May.



Last year, Joseph could easily make 30,000 naira ($18.83) a week but now she will be lucky to get 5,000 naira, she said.



&#8220;People used to place orders. I&#8217;ll design for them, sometimes even (for) weddings I&#8217;ll make souvenirs for them, but now those orders are not coming,&#8221; said the 29-year-old Abuja resident.



&#8220;It has been very, very difficult, especially that I have a son and he needs to go to school, he needs to eat.&#8221;



Tinubu inherited an economy that was already struggling with record debt, high unemployment, low oil output, subsidies that drained government finances and power shortages that have crimped growth.



Nigeria imports food and fuel and was buffeted by high global prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war, just as it had exited a COVID-19 induced recession in 2020.



Tinubu, who campaigned on a &#8220;Renewed Hope&#8221; slogan, removed a costly petrol subsidy and foreign currency controls, in an effort to improve government finances, restore credibility with investors and kick-start the economy.



But inflation has soared to its highest in three decades and the naira currency is slumping to record lows, pressured by acute dollar shortages. Prices of food, cooking gas, medicines, fuel, and public transport have shot up, squeezing household budgets.



&#8220;With about 8 percent of Nigerians deemed food insecure, addressing rising food insecurity is the immediate policy priority,&#8221; the International Monetary Fund said on March 4. after a staff visit.



Nigeria&#8217;s problems have also rippled through company boardrooms.



Foreign companies like Procter &amp; Gamble will stop manufacturing in Nigeria, while drug makers GSK Plc and Bayer AG will contract third parties to distribute their products, in part due to tough operating conditions and the naira slump.



Africa&#8217;s biggest telecoms operator MTN GroupMTNJ.J posted a big fall in full-year profit citing naira devaluation, which also prompted soap maker PZ Cussons PlcPZC.L to issue a profit warning.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-food-price-surge">FOOD PRICE SURGE</h2>



At Agodo market in Lagos, tomato seller Farouk Dalhatu has just served his first customer in eight hours. The market is unusually quiet for the time of day when there is often a cacophonous din of traders and customers haggling over prices.



A basket of tomatoes now costs 55,000 naira &#8211; about double the national minimum wage &#8211; up from 12,000 naira in December. That has forced many of Dalhatu&#8217;s friends to quit the business.



&#8220;They are just trying to find what they can eat now and not do the tomatoes business,&#8221; he said, pointing to several empty stalls.



Escalating food prices are the major driver of inflation.



Widespread insecurity in food growing areas &#8211; including abduction for ransom by armed gangs, a long-running Islamist insurgency and farmer-herder clashes &#8211; is adding to the woes by keeping many farmers away from their fields.



&#8220;We have an emergency on our hands in terms of the social consequences of this reform, in terms of this food insecurity,&#8221; said Muda Yusuf, CEO at business advocacy firm Promotion of Private Enterprise, referring to the currency and fuel subsidy reforms.



Labour unions led some protests last month and have threatened to shut down the country to demand a tenfold rise in the minimum wage.



In response, the government on Thursday started national consultations on a new monthly minimum wage, which has been pegged at 30,000 naira since 2019.



A presidency spokesman declined to comment, but Tinubu&#8217;s administration has announced handouts of cash, grains, fertiliser and seed to vulnerable groups.



Unions say this is not enough and that focus should be on &#8220;substantive issues&#8221; that have been under discussion with the government since June 2023.



&#8220;These include critical matters such as wage increases, social welfare programs, infrastructure development, and the revitalisation of key sectors such as education and healthcare,&#8221; the Nigeria Labour Congress said in a statement.



For Joseph in Abuja, a thriving business and providing for her son is all she wants.



&#8220;I am just thinking about what he will eat if he comes back (from school),&#8221; she said while shuffling through empty pots.



($1 = 1,593.3400 naira)



(Reorting by Abraham Achirga in Abuja, Angela Ukomadu, Seun Sanni and MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos, Graphics by Libby George, Editing by Jane Merriman)

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows traffic and houses in Libreville

Hard times in Nigeria as reforms deepen cost of living crisis

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="562" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-820x562.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-464028" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-820x562.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-131x90.jpg 131w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-768x526.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-1536x1053.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/N3IOJDZWQZL2TF6OEGJSEQTQFU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo speaks at the Royal United Services Institute in London, Britain, October 27, 2023. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo will visit South Africa next week, a Treasury spokesperson told Reuters, where he will seek to advance the economic relationship between the two countries even as ties have been marked by tensions.



The spokesperson said Adeyemo will discuss issues such as illicit finance, clean energy transition, investment in young entrepreneurs and leaders, work against wildlife trafficking and U.S. sanctions in his visit, first reported by Reuters.



He will meet with government counterparts, business leaders and students, among others, on the trip from March 11-15, the spokesperson said. The trip will include visits to Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg.



The trip comes as relations between Washington and Africa’s most industrialized economy have been marked by tensions over the past two years.



In the wake of Russia&#8217;s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, U.S. and European officials have attempted to rally opposition to Moscow&#8217;s actions among African governments. Most African states, however, have shied away from taking sides.



Despite Pretoria&#8217;s declared neutrality, perceived close ties between Russia and South Africa, an important U.S. trading partner in Africa, have ruffled feathers in Washington.



The United States and its allies have imposed rafts of sanctions on Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine, including against its military industrial base, financial sector and Russian President Vladimir Putin.



Adeyemo will discuss sanctions while on the trip, the spokesperson said, including recent changes to the Zimbabwe sanctions program.



Further straining relations, South Africa has been among the most outspoken critics of Israel&#8217;s offensive in Gaza.



In a case it has brought before the International Court of Justice, South Africa has accused Israel of state-led genocide in the Palestinian enclave, a charge Washington has denounced as baseless.



While in South Africa, Adeyemo will meet with government counterparts and on Thursday will attend an interagency meeting on countering illicit finance, the spokesperson said.



He will also attend a roundtable with government officials, the private sector and NGO participants on work against wildlife trafficking.



The U.S. Treasury Department and South Africa&#8217;s National Treasury last year agreed to form a task force to step up efforts to halt illegal trade in wildlife, announced by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a visit to the country.



The group, which is intended to boost information sharing by the countries&#8217; financial intelligence units and to strengthen controls to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, held its first meeting in June.



Adeyemo will also visit with students, participants in a youth employment accelerator, entrepreneurs and business leaders as he seeks to focus on investment in the next generation of South Africans, the spokesperson said.



The spokesperson said that engagement with South Africa&#8217;s National Treasury is important to Washington, with the U.S. standing as the country&#8217;s third-largest trading partner, and that Adeyemo&#8217;s visit is intended to deepen economic integration.



(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Joe Bavier; Editing by Michael Perry)

Reuters

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Reuters

Oil at highest since early November on brighter demand signals

Zimbabwe goes hungry as crops wither amid El Nino drought

South African president extends central bank governor’s term, appoints new deputy

China’s Xi willing to work with Angola as it moves on from oil

No smartphone or internet? No problem; AI-backed phone has the answers

Africa to play ‘huge role’ in US critical mineral strategy, says Treasury’s No. 2

West, Central Africa see major internet outage with undersea cables down

South Africa’s Standard Bank posts 27% jump in annual profit

South Africa’s ANC wary of post-election coalition, says it ‘won’t work’

African cocoa plants run out of beans as global chocolate crisis deepens

US Treasury’s No. 2 urges South Africa to boost fight against corruption

Key issues shaping Senegal’s presidential vote

Stocks scale seven-month high, FX stalls with US inflation data in focus

South Africa’s ANC likely to lose parliamentary majority in May vote, survey shows

Bitcoin hits record above $71,000 as demand frenzy intensifies

Hard times in Nigeria as reforms deepen cost of living crisis

US Treasury’s No. 2 to visit South Africa next week

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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