HONG KONG, May 25 (Reuters) &#8211; Asian shares advanced on Tuesday, tracking a rally on Wall Street, while the dollar held near a fourth-month low as inflation worries faded after Federal Reserve officials allayed fears about monetary policy tightening.



In early European trade, pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.27%, while German DAX futures and FTSE futures rose 0.14% and 0.21%, respectively. U.S. stock futures, the S&amp;P 500 e-minis, were up 0.27%.



In Asia, the region&#8217;s main regional equity gauges climbed with MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 1.3% at a two-week high, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild gains.



&#8220;Markets were buoyed as data flow didn&#8217;t live up to the strong-inflation narrative, and amid repeated guidance from senior central bank figures that the current rise in inflation is temporary,&#8221; ANZ analysts wrote in a note.



Australian shares rose 0.81% to a two-week high. Japan&#8217;s Nikkei stock index jumped 0.6%, boosted by heavyweight local technology stocks, though gains were contained by worries of a sluggish economic recovery due to slow vaccine rollouts in the country.



&#8220;In general when tech rallies in the U.S., the well known Asian tech stocks tend to follow suit,&#8221; said Catherine Yeung, investment director at Fidelity International.



Chinese stocks in particular hit a 2-1/2-month high on financial services and consumer gains. The blue-chip CSI300 index jumped 2.58%, while the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advanced 2.03%, reaching their highest levels since early March. Hong Kong&#8217;s Hang Seng index rose 1.43%.



&#8220;As China&#8217;s economic recovery continues and commodities prices start to stabilise, that would help ease inflation worries and repair investor sentiment,&#8221; said Hong Hao, head of research at BoCom International. &#8220;The country&#8217;s stock markets also have room to bounce back from big falls in February.&#8221;



The U.S. national activity index reading of 0.24 against expectations above 1, along with dovish comments from Federal Reserve speakers, helped support the view that policy will remain on hold for some time.



Still, after global service sector surveys showed strong growth last Friday, all eyes will be on the release of U.S. personal consumption data on Thursday, the Fed&#8217;s preferred inflation measure.



On Monday, Wall Street closed higher as a retreat in benchmark Treasury yields helped lift expensive stocks in sectors such as technology, with the sector&#8217;s majors Apple up 1.33% and Microsoft 2.29% higher.



The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.54% while the S&amp;P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.99% and 1.41%, respectively.



Treasury yields, which fell on Monday after a few Fed officials affirmed their support to keep monetary policy accommodative for some time, were little changed. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was at 1.6063%, at a two-week low.



&#8220;I think there will come a time when we can talk more about changing the parameters of monetary policy, I don&#8217;t think we should do it when we&#8217;re still in the pandemic,&#8221; Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said on Monday.



Digital currencies bounced back on Monday following last week&#8217;s crypto rout, regaining ground lost during a weekend selloff on news of China&#8217;s clampdown on mining and trading of cryptocurrencies.



After shedding 13% on Sunday, Bitcoin, the world&#8217;s largest cryptocurrency, was last down 1.84% at approximately $38,124.



The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, edged down to 89.772, just above a four-month low. The European single currency was up 0.1% on the day at $1.2225, having gained 1.72% in a month.



U.S. crude ticked up 0.08% to $66.1 a barrel. Brent crude rose to $68.6 per barrel.



Gold was slightly lower. Spot gold traded at $1873.64 per ounce. 



(Reporting by Julie Zhu; Additional reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Richard Pullin and Jacqueline Wong)

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Asia shares track Wall Street up as inflation fears fade

South African maize farmers are expected to harvest 7% more of the staple crop during the 2020/2021 season compared with the previous season, as yields are boosted by favourable weather, a Reuters survey showed on Monday.



South Africa&#8217;s Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) is expected to forecast the 2020/2021 maize crop at 16.413 million tonnes, up from the 15.300 million tonnes harvested last season, the average estimate of five traders and analysts showed.



The forecast is 2% higher than the CEC&#8217;s April forecast of 16.095 million tonnes.



&#8220;Beneficial temperatures and growing conditions over the past few months sustained maturing and filling maize plants,&#8221; said Riddermark Capital Grain Option Market Trader Warren Langridge.



With harvesting already taking place in some parts of the country, analysts are hopeful the 2020/2021 season will see very high yields.



&#8220;Our observations and feedback from farmers on the ground remain encouraging that we could have the second-largest maize crop on record in the 2020/2021 production season,&#8221; said Agricultural Business Chamber chief economist Wandile Sihlobo.



The survey expects the crop to consist of around 9.131 million tonnes of white maize, used mainly for human consumption, and around 7.287 million tonnes of yellow maize, used mainly for animal feed.



The CEC will release its fourth production forecast for 2021 summer crops on May 27.



 (Reporting by Akhona Matshoba. Editing by Tanisha Heiberg and Mark Potter)

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S.Africa’s 2020/2021 maize output seen up 7% on last season

SYDNEY, May 24 (Reuters) &#8211; Asian shares were mixed on Monday as investors awaited key U.S. inflation readings for guidance on monetary policy, while Bitcoin tried to steady after being hammered on news of China&#8217;s clampdown on mining and trading of cryptocurrencies.



MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.1% in slow trade. Japan&#8217;s Nikkei added 0.2% and Chinese blue chips 0.2%.



Nasdaq futures rose 0.1% and S&amp;P 500 futures firmed 0.3%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures and FTSE futures added 0.2%.



After surveys of the global service sectors out on Friday showed spectacular growth, all eyes will be on U.S. personal consumption and inflation figures this week.



A high reading for the core inflation figures would ring alarms and could revive talk of an early tapering by the U.S. Federal Reserve.



The diary has a crowd of Fed speakers this week, including the influential Fed Board Governor Lael Brainard, and markets will be keen to hear if they stick to the script on being patient with policy.



BofA&#8217;s monthly Fund Manager survey found a record 69% of respondents expected above trend economic growth and inflation globally.



As a result, managers had pushed into commodities and late-cyclicals, where overweight positions were close to 15-year highs, while the single most crowded trade was Bitcoin.



&#8220;With such bullish views on growth and inflation, the risk for investors is that growth slows and inflation proves temporary,&#8221; BofA analysts said in a note.



&#8220;Also, Tech, viewed as crowded fairly recently, is now back to an underweight and would likely benefit if inflation fears ebbed.&#8221;



The crowded trade in Bitcoin left it vulnerable to a selloff as investors rushed to the exits en masse, seeing it down 50% from its all-time high. The cryptocurrency shed 13% on Sunday alone, but was last trading up 1.9% at $35,350.



It was hurt in part by China&#8217;s crackdown on mining and trading of the largest cryptocurrency as part of ongoing efforts to prevent speculative and financial risks.



The major currencies were staid in comparison, with the euro holding at $1.2184 after repeatedly failing to clear chart resistance around $1.2244 last week.



The dollar was idling on the yen at 108.84, pinned between support at 108.56 and resistance around 109.33. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar had steadied at 90.032 after hitting its lowest since January at 89.646 on Friday.



The softness of the dollar combined with concerns about inflation and the wild volatility of cryptocurrencies to put gold back into favour. The metal was last at $1,884 an ounce , after reaching its highest since January.



&#8220;The recent mix of strong U.S. CPI, weak employment, and Fed policymakers willing to let inflation overshoot while targeting the employment gap, could remain gold bullish for a while longer,&#8221; said Michael Hsueh, commodities &amp; FX strategist at Deutsche Bank.



&#8220;Gold&#8217;s recovery has been associated with the strong rally in some parts of the commodities complex, increasingly represented by agriculture, metals and transport indices this year, and an eight-yr high in U.S. 10-year inflation expectations.&#8221;



Oil prices edged higher as a storm formed in the Gulf of Mexico and Iran said a three-month nuclear monitoring deal had expired, raising doubts about the future of indirect talks that could end U.S. sanctions on Iranian crude exports.



Brent was last up 40 cents at $66.84 a barrel, while U.S. crude added 39 cents to $63.97 per barrel.



(Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Sam Holmes)

Macro view of a screen of trading terminal with abstract financial graph and digits. Trading and forex concept. 3D Rendering

Asia shares wary on U.S. inflation, Bitcoin struggles to steady

HANOI, May 21 (Reuters) &#8211; Most base metals fell on Friday, weighed down by fears that authorities in top consumer China will take measures to curb a rally in commodity prices.



Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.1% to $9,939 a tonne by 0313 GMT, while the most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 1.1% to 72,050 yuan ($11,198.15) a tonne.



ShFE aluminium decreased 1.3% to 18,800 yuan a tonne and ShFE nickel dropped 2.5% to 125,160 yuan a tonne, while LME nickel shed 1.2% to $16,935 a tonne.



China said on Wednesday it would strengthen its management of commodity supply and demand to curb &#8220;unreasonable&#8221; increases in prices and prevent them being passed on to consumers.



FUNDAMENTALS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The global nickel market deficit widened to 16,100 tonnes in March from a 600-tonne gap in February, International Nickel Study Group data showed.</li><li>The global world refined copper market showed a 111,000 tonne surplus in February, compared with a 20,000 tonnes surplus in January, the International Copper Study Group said.</li></ul>



MARKETS NEWS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Asian stocks rose, setting the region up for a weekly gain, as investors tempered fears about hot inflation and the prospects of an early tapering of stimulus by the Federal Reserve.</li></ul>



DATA/EVENTS (GMT)



0600 UK Retail Sales MM, YY; Ex-Fuel MM April



0715 France Markit Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs May



0730 Germany Markit Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs May



0800 EU Markit Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs May



0830 UK Flash Comp, Mfg, Serv PMIs May



1345 US Markit Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs May



1400 US Existing Home Sales April



1400 EU Consumer Confid. Flash May



0700 Finance ministers from the 19 countries sharing the



euro meet in person in Lisbon to discuss macroeconomic



and fiscal developments in the euro area.



($1 = 6.4341 yuan) 



(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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Most base metals fall on China price curb fears

TOKYO, May 21 (Reuters) &#8211; Asian tech and growth stocks rallied on Friday, following Wall Street&#8217;s overnight lead, as investors tempered fears about hot inflation and the prospects of an early tapering of stimulus by the Federal Reserve.



Japan&#8217;s tech-heavy Nikkei and Taiwan&#8217;s stock index stood out in the region &#8211; where equities were broadly mixed &#8211; with gains of 0.8% and 1.2% respectively.



Chinese blue chips lost 0.8%, however, weighed by financials and capping broader gains in the region.



Overall, MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.1%, putting it on track for a 1.9% weekly gain. The gauge&#8217;s tech components jumped 0.6% over the day.



Futures pointed to a further 0.3% rise for the S&amp;P 500 later in the global day, following a more than 1% rise on Thursday.



Growth stocks led those gains as Treasury yields declined following a weaker-than-expected U.S. business activity reading. A pullback in commodity prices, particularly oil, also undermined the thesis for too-hot inflation.



The Nasdaq Composite was the big winner, soaring 1.8%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a 0.6% gain.



European stocks looked set to rally at Friday&#8217;s open, with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.4% and FTSE futures rising 0.2%.



&#8220;It&#8217;s still a market trying to work out where inflation is going to go, and what that might mean for Fed policy somewhere down the line,&#8221; said Kyle Rodda, a market analyst at IG in Melbourne.



The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index fell to 31.5 from 50.2 in April, its highest pace in nearly half a century, casting doubt on how fast the economy can continue to heat up.



Other data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped further below 500,000 last week, but jobless rolls swelled in early May, which could temper expectations for an acceleration in employment growth this month.



The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes held Thursday&#8217;s more than 4 basis-point decline to hover around 1.632% in Asia.



Oil prices recovered slightly after steep drops on Thursday, when diplomats said progress was made toward a deal to lift U.S. sanctions on Iran.



Brent crude was 0.3% higher at $65.27 a barrel after slumping 2.3%. West Texas Intermediate crude added 0.4% to $62.21 a barrel following a 2.1% tumble.



In the foreign exchange market, the dollar was languishing near multi-month lows following its steepest slide in about two weeks on Thursday as bets of early U.S. rate hikes pared back.



The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was at 89.755, little changed after the previous session&#8217;s 0.4% slump. For the week, it has tumbled 0.7%.



In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin traded just below $40,000 on Friday following a wild ride this week that saw it plunge as low as $30,066 on Wednesday for the first time since late January.



The digital token rebounded Thursday after prominent backers such as Ark Invest&#8217;s Cathie Wood and Tesla&#8217;s Elon Musk indicated their support.



Wednesday&#8217;s brutal selloff was triggered by worries over tighter regulation in China and unease about the extent of leveraged positions among investors.



No. 2 cryptocurrency ether was trading around $2,900 following a drop to as low as $1,850 on Wednesday.



For the week, bitcoin is down 14%, adding to the previous period&#8217;s 20% slide, while ether has fallen 23%.



(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Sam Holmes)

NASDAQ_stock_market_display

Asian tech shares track Nasdaq gains as inflation fears recede

May 20 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s rand ticked higher on Thursday ahead of a central bank meeting, while most other emerging market currencies rose slightly, even as hints of eventual policy tightening from the Federal Reserve clouded their outlook.



The rand added about 0.3%, with the central bank widely expected to hold rates at a record-low 3.5% later in the day. But rising inflation expectations, as well as eventual Fed tightening are expected to push the bank into hiking rates.



Still, relatively higher interest rates in the country have benefited the rand, as waning concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic spurred a return to carry trades. The currency is about 4% higher this year and is among the best performing EM currencies.



&#8220;(The) South African Reserve Bank&#8217;s focus is likely to be on increased risks to inflation, but on the other hand, it will point to the fragile economic recovery,&#8221; Elisabeth Andreae, FX and EM analyst at Commerzbank wrote in a note.



&#8220;The market has priced in some monetary tightening this year. Nevertheless, a more hawkish tone today could further fuel interest rate expectations and thus give further impetus to the rand.&#8221;



Russia&#8217;s rouble inched up 0.1% and Turkey&#8217;s lira added 0.5% after two days of losses, while the dollar fell after a strong bounce overnight.



The greenback was boosted on Wednesday by minutes from the Fed&#8217;s last meeting revealing that there was more talk of tapering the bank&#8217;s bond purchases than initially expected. This comes amid surging U.S. inflation, which the Fed has indicated is a factor for eventual policy tightening.



Higher lending rates in the U.S. tend to make EM and other risk-driven assets less attractive, due to a narrower gap between yields.



EM stocks slipped 0.2%, with Turkey&#8217;s bourse leading losses across Europe, the Middle East and Africa with a 0.5% fall.



In Latin America, Colombia&#8217;s peso is expected to tumble after the country lost one of its three investment grade ratings. S&amp;P Global Rating relegated its credit rating to junk status.



The cut comes against the backdrop of violent nationwide anti-government protests, as well as the recent withdrawal of a tax reform, which many saw as negative for economic growth.



Colombia&#8217;s downgrade also outlines the cracks exposed in EM debt by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen several EM countries faced with the possibility of becoming &#8220;fallen angels&#8221;, &#8211; once investment-grade debt that is downgraded to junk status.



For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2021, see <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh">http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh</a> 



For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2021, see <a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX">https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX</a>



(Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

South African Economy As Inflation Rate Rises For First Time In 2017

South African rand rises before central bank meet, EMFX edges up

SINGAPORE/TOKYO, May 20 (Reuters) &#8211; Stock markets struggled for traction on Thursday after a jittery session on Wall Street where cryptocurrencies crashed and a hint of tapering talk from the U.S. Federal Reserve drove selling in the bond market while lifting the safe-haven dollar.



MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.04%. Stocks in South Korea fell 0.34%, and Hong Kong&#8217;s Hang Seng fell 0.72%, but Japan&#8217;s Nikkei rose 0.43%.



Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.64%, German DAX futures also rose 0.64%, and FTSE futures were up 0.88%, pointing to a positive start to the European session.



Bitcoin, which plunged as much as 30% to $30,000 overnight, was struggling for support around $39,000. U.S. stock futures were flat.



Commodities also fell, Treasuries nursed losses while the dollar held overnight gains.



Fed minutes published on Wednesday said &#8220;a number&#8221; of officials thought that if the recovery holds up, it might be appropriate to &#8220;begin discussing a plan for adjusting the pace of asset purchases&#8221;.



&#8220;This is very much the market view, really,&#8221; ING economist Rob Carnell said on the phone from Singapore, with traders expecting strong hints over summer that the taper is coming and that policy support could start to ease in December.



&#8220;This is taking us to where we think we&#8217;re going to go, and perhaps this removes a little bit of uncertainty around that &#8211; so you get a slight increase in bond yields and the dollar rallying a little bit.&#8221;



The yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries rose 4.1 basis points overnight to 1.6830% and dipped to 1.6693%. The dollar scraped itself off a four-month low to hover around $1.2181 per euro.



The dollar also rose through its 20-day moving average against the yen, Aussie and kiwi. It last bought 109.14 yen and the dollar index was last at 90.132.



On Wall Street overnight the S&amp;P 500 closed 0.3% lower and the Nasdaq was flat, something of a recovery after each dropped more than 1.6% during the session.



CRYPTO CRUSHED



The trigger for sharp falls in bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies appeared to be China&#8217;s move on Tuesday to reinforce strict curbs on crypto trading by barring financial institutions from providing transaction services.



Traders said the huge run-up in prices for the asset class in recent months meant that gravity also probably played a role, as well as Tesla boss Elon Musk&#8217;s apparent cooling on bitcoin over the amount of energy consumed in processing transactions.



Outages at several major trading platforms during the maelstrom, which also set ether tumbling nearly 50%, also did little to inspire confidence. Although well above overnight lows, ether and bitcoin remained under pressure on Thursday.



&#8220;It&#8217;s not just crypto – although that is the poster child of this movement – but SPACs, recent IPOs, ARK Innovation and Tesla, to name a few, have all lost their bid,&#8221; said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne.



&#8220;For me, the overriding factor is liquidity and the timing of lower liquidity and that is having huge ramifications &#8211; we are debating, not just a slower pace of central bank asset purchases (QE), but when QE comes to an end.&#8221;



Elsewhere industrial commodities fell sharply on Thursday after China said it would strengthen its management of supply and demand to curb unreasonable rises.



Dalian iron ore futures shed as much as 9%, and coal futures fell 8%, triggering a downside limit.



Crude oil came off overnight lows but remained under pressure on worries about fresh COVID-19 curbs in Asia crimping demand and about the U.S. rates outlook.



Brent crude was last steady at $66.84 a barrel and U.S. crude at $63.73.



(Reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

World map with charts and graphs as symbols of global finance

Taper talk troubles stocks, bitcoin attempts to rebound

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will provide Sudan next week with $700 million in funding to support the energy and communications sectors, the Sudanese prime minister said on Wednesday.



The pledge was made during a meeting with bank officials in Paris earlier this week, Abdalla Hamdok told a news conference on his arrival in Khartoum from the French capital.



The bank also agreed to buy 22 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for Sudan worth $220 million, Hamdok said, bringing the total funding to nearly $1 billion.



During the Paris trip, International Monetary Fund member countries agreed to clear Sudan&#8217;s arrears to the institution, removing a final hurdle to the African nation getting wider relief on external debt of at least $50 billion.



Sudan is emerging from decades of economic sanctions and isolation under ousted former President Omar al-Bashir.



It had built up huge arrears on its debt, but has made rapid progress towards having much of it forgiven under the IMF and World Bank&#8217;s Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) scheme, which would reopen access to badly needed cheap international financing.



In order to reach the &#8220;decision point&#8221; that would unlock the HIPC process in June, Sudan recently cleared its arrears to the World Bank and the African Development Bank with bridge loans from Western states.



In Paris, the Saudi finance minister also discussed opening branches of Saudi banks in Sudan to facilitate the movement of capital between the two countries and remittances of Sudanese expatriates, the state news agency, SUNA, reported on Wednesday.



(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz and Alaa Swilam; Writing by Mahmoud Mourad; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Print

Sudan to get $700 million of funding from Afreximbank next week

JOHANNESBURG, May 19 (Reuters) &#8211; The International Finance Corporation (IFC) said on Wednesday it was investing $2 billion to support small businesses in Africa and boost international trade as part of efforts to bolster the continent&#8217;s recovery from the pandemic.



While the pandemic&#8217;s impact has been less acute in Africa than in the United States, Europe and now India, the economic fallout has been severe. Sub-Saharan Africa is set to record the slowest economic growth of any world region this year.



The IFC, investment arm of the World Bank, said it would invest $1 billion in new direct financing for micro, small and medium enterprises, including via mezzanine financing and risk-sharing instruments.



Another $1 billion will support international trade finance &#8220;to facilitate the flow of imports and exports of essential goods, including food and medical products,&#8221; the IFC said in a statement.



&#8220;This is a critical time for people, businesses, and economies across Africa. Long-term recovery will depend on getting funding to the pillars of the economy that need it today,&#8221; said Makhtar Diop, the IFC&#8217;s Managing Director.



The initiatives will be open to public and private partners, the statement said.



The IFC last year announced a global $8 billion fast-track financing facility for help existing clients and their countries&#8217; economies during the pandemic.



More than half has already been deployed, the IFC said, with more than 30% going to IFC clients in Africa.



(Reporting by Joe Bavier; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

IFC World Bank Photo: via Flickr

World Bank’s IFC to invest $2 bln to support Africa’s recovery

Saudi Arabia will support African countries with investments and loans worth about $1 billion this year to help their economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Tuesday.



&#8220;Saudi Development Fund will carry out future projects, loans and grants worth three billion riyals, or around $1 billion, in developing countries in Africa this year,&#8221; Prince Mohammed said in a televised speech to a debt relief conference in Paris.



He also said the kingdom&#8217;s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), had invested around $4 billion in the energy, mining, telecoms, food and other sectors in Africa and that it would continue to look for opportunities in other sectors in the continent.



African leaders and the heads of multilateral lenders met in Paris on Tuesday to find ways of financing African economies hurt by the pandemic and to discuss handling the continent&#8217;s billions of dollars in debt.



The summit brought together some 30 African and European heads of state, as well as the heads of global financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank.



&#8220;The impact of the pandemic on low-income African countries was severe, as it widened the financing gap needed to achieve development goals. It is important to continue joint international efforts to overcome this crisis,&#8221; said the prince, known in the west by his initials MbS.



Earlier during the conference, IMF member countries agreed to clear Sudan&#8217;s arrears to the institution, removing a final hurdle to it obtaining wider relief on external debt of at least $50 billion.



Saudi Arabia, Sudan&#8217;s third-largest creditor with about $4.6 billion in debt, has said it will press strongly for a broad agreement on debt, to help a country emerging from decades of sanctions and isolation under ousted former President Omar al-Bashir. 



(Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Giles Elgood)

Saudi_Arabia_and_Russia_in_2016

Saudi to invest $1 bln to support Africa’s post-pandemic recovery

TOKYO, May 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Global stocks slipped and cryptocurrencies sank on Wednesday as a threat of unwanted inflation had investors shy away from assets seen vulnerable to any removal of monetary stimulus.



Also weighing on digital coins were new Chinese restrictions on financial institutions providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions.



European stocks are expected to drop, with both Euro Stoxx futures and Britain&#8217;s FTSE futures trading about 1% lower.



MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.3% though Hong Kong and South Korea are closed for holidays.



Mainland China&#8217;s CSI300 slipped 0.1% while Japan&#8217;s Nikkei lost 1.5%.



U.S. S&amp;P futures fell 0.3% in Asia a day after Wall Street stocks slid in late Tuesday trade, unable to sustain gains made after bumper earnings from Walmart and Home Depot.



The S&amp;P 500 on Tuesday lost 0.85%, with telecom shares leading the decline, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.56%.



&#8220;Due to supply chain disruptions and labour constraints, there are worries companies may not be able to match their supply with increasing demand,&#8221; said Arihiro Nagata, general manager of global investment at Sumitomo Mitsui Bank.



While demand is recovering fast as many developed countries have made progress with COVID-19 vaccination, companies are facing obstacles from shortages of chips, containers, and in the United States workers, too, stoking worries of higher prices.



The Federal Reserve has stuck to the narrative that a recent rise in inflation would be transient and that it therefore should keep its easy monetary policy settings.



The minutes from the Fed&#8217;s April meeting, to be published late on Wednesday, are expected to repeat that message.



&#8220;Inflation remains the biggest theme, whether it is real and whether the Fed may need to change its policy because of that,&#8221; said Kazushige Kaida, head of forex sales at State Street Bank&#8217;s Tokyo branch. &#8220;At the moment, markets are putting faith, after a fashion, in the Fed&#8217;s narrative.&#8221;



Yet inflation data from UK and Canada due later on Wednesday could rekindle concerns following an unexpected pickup in U.S. consumer inflation shown earlier this month.



That could hit assets whose prices have been bolstered by monetary easing, including cryptocurrencies, which rose sharply over the past year and are seen by some as exemplifying an excess created by a &#8220;wall of money&#8221; from central banks.



Bitcoin dropped as much as 10.2% to hit its lowest level since early February, bringing its loss from a peak of $64,895 hit just over a month ago to more than 40% at that point. It last stood 7.5% lower at $39,645.



Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, shed as much as 15.5%, and a third of its value from its record peak hit last Wednesday. It last changed hands at $3,018, down 10.7%.



While cryptocurrencies were bruised by China&#8217;s fresh ban on their transactions, they were not alone in facing pressure.



Some commodities that have benefited from reflation trade have also lost steam, with U.S. lumber futures losing almost 25% in the last three sessions.



Oil prices pulled back also after media reports the United States and Iran have made progress on reviving a deal restricting the OPEC country&#8217;s nuclear weapons development, a development that could lead to increased supply from Iran.



U.S. crude futures dropped 1.0% to $64.83 per barrel while Brent futures lost 1.0% to $68.05 per barrel.



In the currency market, the dollar stayed under pressure as U.S. yields stayed flat.



The euro hit a near three-month high of $1.22355 while the British pound held firm at $1.4191, staying near a three-month peak touched on Tuesday.



The dollar stood at 108.92 yen after four straight sessions of decline.



Precious metals were solid, with gold hitting its highest level since late January on Tuesday and last stood at $1,867.50 per ounce.



(Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Sam Holmes)

Trading Board Is Showing A Crash In Stok Exchange Market

Stocks slip, crypto haemorrhage deepens amid inflation worries

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/French-President-Emmanuel-Macron-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-404286" width="705" height="470" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/French-President-Emmanuel-Macron-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/French-President-Emmanuel-Macron-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/French-President-Emmanuel-Macron-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/French-President-Emmanuel-Macron-1.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 705px) 100vw, 705px" /><figcaption>French President Emmanuel Macron Photo via flickr</figcaption></figure>











French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday a summit in Paris on Africa financing had agreed to work towards persuading rich nations by October to reallocate $100 billion in IMF special drawing rights monetary reserves to African states.



Impoverished African economies must not be left behind in the post-pandemic economic recovery and a substantial financial package is needed to provide much-needed economic stimulus, African and European leaders concluded at a summit in Paris.



In the immediate term, that meant accelerating the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and creating the fiscal breathing room for African nations, which will face a spending shortfall of some $285 billion over the next two years, the summit communique showed.



The communique set out a two-pronged response based on addressing financing needs to support a sustainable, green recovery and the underpinning of private-sector-driven growth &#8211; but it was light on concrete commitments.



&#8220;This is a new start, a new deal for Africa,&#8221; Senegalese President Macky Sall told reporters.



International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva said it was time to stem the &#8220;dangerous divergence between advanced economies and developing countries, especially (in) Africa.&#8221;



Georgieva said the African continent&#8217;s economic output would increase by only 3.2% in 2021, compared with 6% in the rest of the world.



Central to the talks was the question of how to reallocate IMF reserves (SDRs) that were earmarked for developed countries towards developing economies.



World finance chiefs agreed in April to boost SDRs by $650 billion and extend a debt-servicing freeze to help developing countries deal with the pandemic, although only $34 billion was to be allocated to Africa.



Macron said France had decided to redirect its SDRs and that there had been an accord to try to get rich nations by October to reallocate $100 billion to Africa.



&#8220;Our work in the next few weeks will be to make the same rate of effort as France, starting with the United States of America, and I know all the work that we will have to do with Congress and the executive, but I am confident,&#8221; he told reporters.



Georgieva pledged to come up with a new allocation proposal by August.



&#8220;On the $100 billion, is it enough? Let&#8217;s be very clear, no it is not enough. We have a financial gap just to catch up with the impact of COVID for the continent of Africa of $285 billion, she said. &#8220;It is genuinely an all-hands-on-deck situation.&#8221;



&#8220;We have to make the private sector attracted to go into a risky environment by de-risking investments.&#8221;



The summit was part of Macron&#8217;s efforts to recast France&#8217;s engagement in Africa, where it was once a colonial power, at a time when the continent faces a near $300 billion deficit by the end of 2023 while trying to recover from the downturn.



The African Development Bank forecasts that up to 39 million people could fall into poverty this year, with many African countries at risk of debt distress because of the pandemic. 



(Reporting by John Irish; Additional reporting by Richard Lough, Leigh Thomas and David Lawder; Editing by William Maclean and Peter Cooney)

French President Emmanuel Macron

France, African leaders push to redirect $100 bln in IMF SDR reserves by October

TOKYO, May 10 (Reuters) &#8211; Stocks rose on Monday amid speculation that interest rates will remain low due to receding inflationary pressure, while oil and gas prices jumped after a cyber attack on a U.S. pipeline operator unnerved markets.



MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3%, while U.S. stock futures rose 0.14%.



Australian stocks hit their highest in more than a year, boosted by gains in miners, but shares in China fell 0.74%. Japanese shares gained 0.53%.



Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.42%, German DAX futures were up 0.32%, and FTSE futures rose 0.37%, pointing to a strong start to the European session.



U.S. nonfarm payrolls data on Friday showed jobs growth unexpectedly slowed in April, which gave equities a lift but put downward pressure on the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields.



Oil and gasoline futures extended gains after a cyber attack shut down a U.S. pipeline operator that provides nearly half of the U.S. east coast&#8217;s fuel supply.



&#8220;It certainly pushes back the timetable for Fed tapering, perhaps to December from the prior expectations of the Jackson Hole Symposium in late August,&#8221; Chris Weston, head of research at broker Pepperstone in Melbourne, wrote in a memo.



&#8220;A softer payrolls is good for the reflation trade; the dollar weakened across the FX spectrum. We&#8217;ve also seen a solid bid in equity indices and futures are up.&#8221;



On Friday the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&amp;P 500 rose to record closing highs after disappointing data on the U.S. jobs market eased concerns about a spike in consumer prices.



In recent weeks, some investors had been placing bets that a robust U.S. economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic would force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates earlier than the central bank has outlined.



However, the weak nonfarm payrolls report caused a rapid reversal in some of these trades, which rippled through stocks, bonds, and major currencies.



The focus now shifts to U.S. consumer price data due on Wednesday, which will help investors determine whether they need to scale back their inflation expectations even further.



MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of global stock markets hit a record high on expectations that low rates will continue to spur lending and economic growth.



The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies edged up to 90.237 but was still near its weakest since Feb. 25.



The British pound jumped to the highest in more than two months against the greenback, but worries about Scottish independence could curb sterling&#8217;s gains, traders said.



China&#8217;s onshore spot yuan strengthened to 6.4265 per dollar, the highest since Jan. 29.



In the cryptocurrency market, ether rose to a record above $4,000. Bigger rival bitcoin rose to $58,920.



The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes steadied at 1.5931% in Asia on Monday after having plunged to a two-month low of 1.4690% on Friday.



U.S. crude ticked up 0.51% to $65.23 a barrel. Brent crude rose to 0.53% to $68.64 per barrel in Asian trading as the disruption to U.S. supplies rattled energy markets.



Gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 1.43% to $2.1574 a gallon, near a three-year high.



The White House is working closely with top U.S. fuel pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline on Sunday to help it recover from a ransomware attack that forced the company to shut its main fuel lines.



&#8220;The major takeaway is the bad guys are very adept at finding new ways to penetrate infrastructure,&#8221; Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates told Reuters. &#8220;Infrastructure has not developed defences that can offset all the different ways that malware can infect one&#8217;s system.&#8221;



(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

Shares rise, dollar eases on U.S. rate outlook

May 17 (Reuters) &#8211; Turkey&#8217;s lira recovered from near record lows on Monday, as the country lifted some COVID-19 restrictions, while gains in most other emerging market assets were capped by concerns over rising virus cases in Asia, and disappointing Chinese data.



The lira rose about 1.4% to 8.3256, leading gains across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), after the government said it will allow movement during the day after a strict lockdown imposed nearly three weeks ago.



The currency was set for its best day since early April, as it recovered from levels close to an all-time low of 8.5789. Concerns over dwindling FX reserves, central bank credibility and general risk aversion had hit the lira hard in recent weeks.



Turkish stocks rose 0.6%, with most other bourses in the EMEA region marking small gains.



Leading losses among EMEA currencies, South Africa&#8217;s rand dropped 0.5%, while Russia&#8217;s rouble fell 0.1% ahead of preliminary first quarter GDP data due later in the day.



Chile&#8217;s stocks and the peso were widely expected to open lower, after the country&#8217;s center-right ruling coalition suffered a shock loss as voters backed independents for the body that will draft the country&#8217;s new constitution.



&#8220;An &#8216;independent&#8217; Constitutional Convention suggests a heightened uncertainty regime ahead,&#8221; JP Morgan analysts wrote in a note.



Hungary&#8217;s forint surged 0.7% to a near nine-month high against the euro, after the country&#8217;s central bank deputy governor Barnabas Virag flagged the possibility of an interest rate hike in June to combat rising inflation.



Broader sentiment was muted after surging COVID-19 cases in Taiwan, Singapore and Japan brewed fears of strict curbs on activity, which would hamper the pace of nascent economic recovery. Taiwanese stocks plunged nearly 3%.



Chinese retail sales widely missed expectations for April, while data showed factories in the country slowed their growth output during the month, pointing to an uneven recovery in the world&#8217;s second-largest economy.



&#8220;It is early days yet, and the impact on the economies of the region will depend in large part on how successful the measures now being rolled out end up being. (If) successful… governments will be able to withdraw restrictions earlier, enabling economic rebound to return,&#8221; analysts at ING wrote in a note.



Emerging markets in Asia have widely outpaced their peers this year so far, buoyed by more effectively curbing the pandemic.



For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2021, see <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh">http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh</a> 



For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2021, see <a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX">https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX</a>



(Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

Turkey Lira, photo via Flickr

Fresh COVID-19 cases dent sentiment in Asia, Turkish lira surges

TOKYO, May 14 (Reuters) &#8211; Japanese shares led a rebound in Asian markets on Friday, building on the lead from investors on Wall Street snapping up stocks that would benefit most from an economic revival.



The rally interrupted a three-day rout for stocks globally, as market jitters over accelerating U.S. inflation were calmed by Federal Reserve officials reiterating that price pressures from the reopening of the economy would prove transitory.



Tokyo&#8217;s Nikkei jumped 2.2%, while MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.8%,



Chinese blue chips rose 1.7%, while Australia&#8217;s benchmark rallied 0.8%.



&#8220;U.S. equities were up, so there is a bit of relief in Asia,&#8221; said Frank Benzimra, head of Asia equity strategy at Societe Generale in Hong Kong.



However, &#8220;we certainly are going to have some volatility near-term,&#8221; as markets react to CPI and other economic indicators for clues on the path for U.S. monetary policy.



The Fed may open the discussion on tapering its asset purchases as soon as the policy meeting next month, he said.



Data on Wednesday showed annual U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly rose the most in over a decade, prompting markets to wager on earlier policy tightening and sending stock markets tumbling.



However, the reassurance from Fed officials about the transitory nature of inflation has for now stemmed the equities sell-off.



Among Fed speakers overnight, Governor Christopher Waller signalled that rates won&#8217;t rise until policymakers either see inflation above target for a long time or excessively high inflation.



&#8220;Inflation, it seems, matters less today than yesterday,&#8221; Chris Weston, head of research at broker Pepperstone in Melbourne, wrote in a note to clients.



&#8220;The buy-the-dip crowd were out in force,&#8221; suggesting that recent selling was &#8220;a pullback within a bull market,&#8221; he said.



S&amp;P 500 futures pointed to further gains of 0.4% when the market reopens, following a 1.2% rally in the index on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up 1.3% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.7%.



The rally was led by shares in small-cap companies, chip makers and transportation providers &#8211; businesses that stand to gain as the United States emerges from the pandemic-induced recession.



Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields, which had spiked 7 basis points following Wednesday&#8217;s CPI print in the biggest daily rise in two months, fell by nearly 4 basis points overnight and eased further in Asian trading to 1.6539%.



The U.S. currency was steady against a basket of its major peers, with the dollar index consolidating around the 90.70 level for a second day on Friday, following Wednesday&#8217;s 0.6% jump.



Gold traded at around $1,822 an ounce at the end of the week, largely unchanged from the previous day, when it recovered some of Wednesday&#8217;s losses.



In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin recovered to just below $50,000 on Friday, after plunging to a 2-1/2-month low of $45,700 in the previous session when a media report of a regulatory probe into crypto exchange Binance added to pressure from Tesla Inc chief Elon Musk&#8217;s reversing his stance on accepting the digital currency.



Much smaller rival dogecoin jumped as much as 20% to $0.52 after Musk said on Twitter that he was involved in work to improve the token&#8217;s transaction efficiency.



Oil prices remained subdued following a drop on Thursday, pausing a recent rally as investors turned their attention to the coronavirus crisis in India, and as the top U.S. fuel pipeline network resumed operations after being shut due to a cyber attack.



Brent crude declined 0.4% to $66.79 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.3% to $63.62 a barrel.



(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

Stocks rebound as Fed officials calm inflation fears, for now

LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) &#8211; Oil prices fell more than 2% on Thursday as India&#8217;s coronavirus crisis deepened and a key U.S. pipeline resumed operations, halting a rally that had lifted crude to an eight-week high after the IEA and OPEC forecast a rebound in global demand later in the year.



Brent crude was down $1.65, or 2.3%, at $67.67 a barrel by 0948 GMT, after rising 1% on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down $1.66 cents, or 2.5%, to $64.42 a barrel, having risen 1.2% in the previous session.



If those losses are sustained, both contracts would mark their biggest daily drops in percentage terms since early April.



In a bearish signal for oil demand, a variant of the coronavirus has swept through the countryside in India, the world&#8217;s third-biggest importer of crude.



Medical professionals have not been able to say when new infections will plateau and other countries are alarmed over the transmissibility of the variant that is now spreading worldwide.



&#8220;Concerns are growing that the untamed spread of the coronavirus in India and in Southeast Asia will dent oil demand,&#8221; PVM analysts said in a note.



&#8220;Its impact, however, is expected to be relatively brief and the second half of the year will see the healthy revival of oil demand growth.&#8221;



Meanwhile, fuel shortages worsened in the southeastern United States, six days after the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, the largest U.S. fuel pipeline network, following a ransomware attack.



The pipeline began to slowly restart on Wednesday and Colonial, which pumps more than 2.5 million barrels per day of fuel, said it hoped to get a large portion of the network operating by the end of the week.



&#8220;While the disruption is meaningful for local retail markets, its impact is still likely to be transient as there is no physical damage to the pipeline,&#8221; Goldman Sachs analysts said.



The dollar also strengthened compared with a basket of other currencies, making oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. 



(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Susan Fenton)

2770193028_68edc662a9_b

Oil drops on India’s COVID-19 crisis, pipeline resumption

Benchmark iron ore futures in China fell over 7% on Thursday as market participants paused after a five-session rally that sent the steelmaking ingredient to historical highs over the past few days.



The most actively traded iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for September delivery, was down 6.4% to 1,231 yuan ($190.76) a tonne by 0330 GMT, after declining 7.2% to 1,221 yuan earlier in the session.



Dalian iron ore prices have jumped 23%, or 248.5 yuan, so far in May as steel production curb worries, peak season demand and inflation concerns fuelled speculative buying.



&#8220;We do not see extreme tightness in the iron ore market, now or in the futures. We see little support for the price rising this high above the cost of the marginal producer in the market,&#8221; Erik Hedborg, an analyst with CRU, said in a note.



Other steelmaking ingredients also pulled back. Dalian coking coal declined 3.8% to 1,990 yuan a tonne and coke fell 2.9% to 2,758 yuan per tonne.



China&#8217;s state council said on Wednesday it would step up coordination between monetary policy and other policies to maintain stable economic operations and cope with a fast increase in commodity prices, without outlining detailed measures.



Construction-used steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for October delivery, fell 2.6% to 5,936 yuan a tonne.



Hot rolled coils, used in the manufacturing sector, slipped 1.9% to 6,483 yuan per tonne.



The June contract for stainless steel futures declined 2% to 15,265 yuan a tonne.



($1 = 6.4530 Chinese yuan) 



(Reporting by Min Zhang and Shivani Singh; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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Asia shares wary on U.S. inflation, Bitcoin struggles to steady

Most base metals fall on China price curb fears

Asian tech shares track Nasdaq gains as inflation fears recede

South African rand rises before central bank meet, EMFX edges up

Taper talk troubles stocks, bitcoin attempts to rebound

Sudan to get $700 million of funding from Afreximbank next week

World Bank’s IFC to invest $2 bln to support Africa’s recovery

Saudi to invest $1 bln to support Africa’s post-pandemic recovery

Stocks slip, crypto haemorrhage deepens amid inflation worries

France, African leaders push to redirect $100 bln in IMF SDR reserves by October

Shares rise, dollar eases on U.S. rate outlook

Fresh COVID-19 cases dent sentiment in Asia, Turkish lira surges

Stocks rebound as Fed officials calm inflation fears, for now

Oil drops on India’s COVID-19 crisis, pipeline resumption

China iron ore futures fall over 7% after record-setting spree

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Economy

Asia shares track Wall Street up as inflation fears fade

S.Africa’s 2020/2021 maize output seen up 7% on last season

Asia shares wary on U.S. inflation, Bitcoin struggles to steady

Most base metals fall on China price curb fears

Asian tech shares track Nasdaq gains as inflation fears recede

South African rand rises before central bank meet, EMFX edges up

Taper talk troubles stocks, bitcoin attempts to rebound

Sudan to get $700 million of funding from Afreximbank next week

World Bank’s IFC to invest $2 bln to support Africa’s recovery

Saudi to invest $1 bln to support Africa’s post-pandemic recovery

Stocks slip, crypto haemorrhage deepens amid inflation worries

France, African leaders push to redirect $100 bln in IMF SDR reserves by October

Shares rise, dollar eases on U.S. rate outlook

Fresh COVID-19 cases dent sentiment in Asia, Turkish lira surges

Stocks rebound as Fed officials calm inflation fears, for now

Oil drops on India’s COVID-19 crisis, pipeline resumption

China iron ore futures fall over 7% after record-setting spree

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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