<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="579" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-820x579.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-469825" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-820x579.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-300x212.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-127x90.jpg 127w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-768x542.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-1536x1084.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Women queue for food parcels during distribution by volunteers of the Lagos food bank initiative in a community in Oworoshoki, Lagos, Nigeria July 10, 2021. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja</figcaption></figure>



LAGOS, March 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;At a warehouse in Nigeria&#8217;s commercial capital Lagos, dozens of women patiently wait their turn to receive food handouts. Among them is 68-year-old widow Damilola Salami, who received an invitation to the facility just as she had almost run out of food.



The Lagos Food Bank is a crucial lifeline to residents like Salami, but has seen supplies from private and other donors fall as inflation soars in Africa&#8217;s biggest economy.



Nigeria is grappling with the worst cost of living crisis in decades, which has deepened since President Bola Tinubu rolled out bold but unpopular economic reforms after assuming office last May.



&#8220;There is nothing for us to eat, we are hungry,&#8221; said Salami as she waited for her share of food and cooking oil. &#8220;Our children are out of school because of the increase in fees. Now, the children are at home and there is no food.&#8221;



Mabel Wade, an 80-year-old charcoal seller, said sustenance was scarce and she often relied on neighbours before she was told of the food bank.



&#8220;Sometimes there is no food to eat at all&#8230; Sometimes, it is biscuit and water,&#8221; she said, after registering for food stamps.



Last month a stampede broke out and killed seven people at a food distribution centre in Lagos.



World Bank data shows that 46% of Nigeria&#8217;s population was deemed poor in 2023. Twenty million of them live in urban areas.



In the past, the imposing warehouse of Lagos Food Bank would be fully stocked with bags of Nigerian staples like rice, beans and vegetable oil. Not anymore.



Founder Michael Sunbola said the facility&#8217;s major donor had cut supplies by 93%, citing the high cost of food.



The food bank has now dialled back on quantities, providing families with enough supplies for a few days at a time when once their parcels would have lasted two weeks. The facility is also having to &#8220;narrow down the number of people we want to reach out to&#8221;, said Sunbola of the people invited to use the service.



&#8220;Now, we do only women from the age of 50,&#8221; he told Reuters.



No Hunger Initiatives, a food bank serving mostly internally displaced people in the capital Abuja, faces similar problems.



The number of people seeking food handouts has tripled since May 2023 but the facility is unable to keep up because donors have cut back supplies by half due to rising inflation, said Kumdet Yilkon, a senior official.



(Editing by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Lucy Marks)

Women queue for food parcels during distribution by volunteers of the Lagos food bank initiative in a community in Oworoshoki, Lagos

Nigeria food banks cut back on handouts as prices soar

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="485" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/KCFPRJVFHBJAVIHQY7H4XLQJ2Y-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-469811" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/KCFPRJVFHBJAVIHQY7H4XLQJ2Y-1.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/KCFPRJVFHBJAVIHQY7H4XLQJ2Y-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/KCFPRJVFHBJAVIHQY7H4XLQJ2Y-1-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Shoppers queue to purchase televisions during Black Friday shopping, at a store in Canal Walk Mall in Cape Town, South Africa, November 25, 2022. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



March 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s first-quarter consumer confidence improved on the back of an uptick in the confidence levels of high-income households, suggesting retail sales volumes could gradually start to recover, according to a survey released on Monday.



The consumer confidence index (CCI), sponsored by the First National Bank (FNB) and compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research, improved to minus 15 points from minus 17 points in the fourth quarter of 2023 and minus 23 points in the first quarter of 2023.



A breakdown of the CCI per household income group showed that high-income confidence, inclusive of those earning more than 20,000 South African rand ($1,053.19) per month, rose from minus 19 to minus 14 points during the quarter, according to the survey.



&#8220;Significantly lower levels of load-shedding and a deceleration in inflation &#8211; particularly on the food price front &#8211; likely supported consumer confidence during the first quarter,&#8221; FNB Chief Economist Mamello Matikinca-Ngwenya said.



&#8220;However, job losses in the fourth quarter and renewed fuel price hikes in February and March probably countered some of these positive developments, particularly for low-income households. The tightening in fiscal policy announced in the February Budget Review probably also clipped consumer confidence.&#8221;



Consumers also remain wary about splurging on big-ticket items, suggesting that durable goods sales will underperform relative to the other consumption categories during the first half of 2024, the survey added.



($1 = 18.9900 rand)



(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman )

FILE PHOTO: Shoppers buy items during Black Friday in Cape Town

S. Africa’s consumer confidence improves in the first quarter, survey says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="568" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/F6D7PI4SJVK4DG7HSVQSJ637XA-1-820x568.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-469791" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/F6D7PI4SJVK4DG7HSVQSJ637XA-1-820x568.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/F6D7PI4SJVK4DG7HSVQSJ637XA-1-300x208.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/F6D7PI4SJVK4DG7HSVQSJ637XA-1-130x90.jpg 130w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/F6D7PI4SJVK4DG7HSVQSJ637XA-1-768x532.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/F6D7PI4SJVK4DG7HSVQSJ637XA-1-1536x1065.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/F6D7PI4SJVK4DG7HSVQSJ637XA-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A man walks past an MTN logo outside the company&#8217;s headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Africa&#8217;s biggest telecoms operator MTN Group&nbsp;MTNJ.J&nbsp;on Monday reported a 72.3% tumble in full-year profit as a sharp devaluation in the Nigerian naira pushed its biggest unit MTN Nigeria&nbsp;MTNN.LG&nbsp;to a loss.



South Africa-headquartered MTN said its headline earnings per share &#8211; one of the main profit measures &#8211; fell to 315 cents for the year ended on Dec. 31, from a restated 1,137 cents a year earlier.



Nigeria&#8217;s central bank in June adopted new forex rules that MTN said had since led to an approximately 96.7% devaluation in the exchange rate to 907.1 naira per dollar by the end of December.



Adjusted headline earnings per share declined by 9.5% to 1,203 cents.



MTN, with 295 million customers in 19 African markets, declared a final divided of 330 cents per share and said its group service revenue grew by 6.9% to 210.1 billion rand ($11.09 billion).



($1 = 18.9519 rand)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Edting by Tom Hogue and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

FILE PHOTO: MTN downgrades medium-term margin target for South Africa on power outages

South Africa’s MTN annual profit slumps on Nigeria naira devaluation

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="672" height="456" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_4108.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-468993" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_4108.jpeg 672w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_4108-300x204.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_4108-133x90.jpeg 133w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Steinhoff&#8217;s former Chief Executive Markus Jooste appears in parliament to face a panel investigating an accounting scandal that rocked the retailer in Cape Town, South Africa, September 5, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A 63-year-old man whom police in South Africa on Thursday said apparently died by suicide was identified by local media as former Steinhoff chief executive Markus Jooste.



Jooste, who was instrumental in transforming Steinhoff from a small Johannesburg furniture outfit into a multinational retailer, had been handed a hefty fine for accounting fraud on Wednesday.



Police said an inquest case docket had been registered following the death of a 63-year-old man. They did not name the deceased.



&#8220;It is alleged that the victim sustained a gunshot wound at around 1520 (local time) at Kwaaiwater and succumbed to death on his way to hospital,&#8221; Western Cape police spokesperson Colonel Andre Traut said in a statement, referring to a suburb of the coastal town of Hermanus near Cape Town.



Traut said police were investigating the circumstances, adding that no foul play was suspected.



Citing sources, South African broadcaster Newzroom Afrika said Jooste shot himself during an arrest. The Financial Times said Jooste had died of a gunshot wound, according to people with knowledge of the matter.



Reuters could not independently verify the reports.



South Africa&#8217;s Financial Sector Conduct Authority fined Jooste 475 million rand ($25.2 million) on Wednesday for publishing false and misleading Steinhoff annual financial statements and annual reports for the 2014 to 2016 years and the 2017 half-year.



Steinhoff revealed holes in its accounts in December 2017, the first sign of an accounting fraud that led to the near-collapse of the retail group, which is the majority owner of South African and European discount retailers Pepkor&nbsp;PPHJ.Jand Pepco&nbsp;PCOP.WA.



Steinhoff has suffered hefty losses and a stream of lawsuits since then.



Jooste told a South African parliamentary inquiry in 2018 that he was not aware of any accounting irregularities when he left the retailer in December 2017.



He had also been under fraud investigation by South African police.



($1 = 18.8497 rand)



(Additional reporting by Wendell Roelf in Cape Town; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Rosalba O&#8217;Brien)

IMG_4108

Former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste dies by suicide, reports say

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="542" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LYNXNPEB7U0I5.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-468376" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LYNXNPEB7U0I5.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LYNXNPEB7U0I5-300x203.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LYNXNPEB7U0I5-133x90.jpg 133w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LYNXNPEB7U0I5-768x520.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A worker drives a vehicle at Zimplats&#8217; Ngwarati Mine in Mhondoro-Ngezi May 30, 2014. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo</figcaption></figure>



March 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Impala Platinum&#8217;s&nbsp;IMPJ.J&nbsp;Zimbabwe unit Zimplats&nbsp;ZIM.AX&nbsp;said on Wednesday it is offering voluntary job cuts in a bid to protect the business from the impact of a sharp fall in platinum group metal (PGM) prices.



Zimplats did not say how many of the 8,000 permanent and contract jobs were targeted under the planned cuts.



The company, which swung to a rare $8.8 million loss in the six months to December 2023, from a $159.6 million profit previously, said it was &#8220;critically reviewing its business&#8221; amid declining metal prices.



&#8220;Regrettably, labour optimisation initiatives must be implemented urgently to secure the business, and the bulk of jobs in the company,&#8221; Zimplats said in a statement.



Southern African PGM miners, including Zimplats&#8217; parent company Impala, Sibanye StillwaterSSWJ.J and Anglo American PlatinumAMSJ.J have scrambled to cut costs, and thousands of jobs, after profits slumped as metal prices plunged over the past year due to weak auto production and concerns about a global economic slowdown.



Zimbabwe&#8217;s other PGM mines, Unki mine, owned by Anglo American Platinum, and Mimosa, a joint venture between Impala and Sibanye Stillwater, are also implementing job cuts.



Mimosa has also halted its $100 million North Hill expansion project, while Impala, which announced a 10-year $1.8 billion expansion project at Zimplats in 2021, is deferring long term schemes such as sulphur abatement and renewable energy.



Tharisa Plc THST.L has delayed by a year the commissioning of its $361 million Karo platinum mine in Zimbabwe, which was scheduled for June 2024, due to the low metal prices.



(Reporting by Nelson BanyaEditing by Ros Russell)

A worker drives a vehicle at Zimplats’ Ngwarati Mine in Mhondoro-Ngezi

Zimplats to offer voluntary job cuts after platinum price rout

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="538" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2JI3RXOROJL6DPHC5F7JG6RGEE-820x538.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-468299" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2JI3RXOROJL6DPHC5F7JG6RGEE-820x538.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2JI3RXOROJL6DPHC5F7JG6RGEE-300x197.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2JI3RXOROJL6DPHC5F7JG6RGEE-137x90.jpg 137w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2JI3RXOROJL6DPHC5F7JG6RGEE-768x503.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2JI3RXOROJL6DPHC5F7JG6RGEE.jpg 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A general view of Adabraka in Accra, Ghana, December 5, 2016. Picture taken December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, March 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s economy grew 3.8% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, the statistics agency said on Wednesday, bringing full-year growth to 2.9% in 2023,&nbsp;as the country recovers from its worst economic crisis in a generation due to spiralling public debt.



The annual growth rate was higher than the 2.3% estimated by the International Monetary Fund in January, but was still significantly slower than 3.8% growth in 2022.



Annual growth was largely driven by services and agriculture, while the industry sector saw a small contraction.



After defaulting on much of its overseas debt in 2022, the government last year secured a $3 billion loan programme with the IMF, and in January reached a deal to restructure $5.4 billion of loans with its official creditors.



It is now pushing for a deal with holders of about $13 billion in international bonds.



&#8220;We will have to ask ourselves if we&#8217;ve exhausted the full potential impact of the IMF dispensation and if the 2.9% (GDP growth) is all we can get,&#8221; government statistician Samuel Kobina Annim&nbsp;said at a news briefing.



&#8220;If you compare the growth rate of 3.8% in 2022 to 2.9% in 2023, (we) need to ask ourselves questions,&#8221; he said.



However, he noted growth was improving on a quarterly basis, after having slowed to 2.0% in the third quarter of last year.



The woes in Ghana&#8217;s cocoa sector, the world&#8217;s second-largest, did not appear to have impacted overall growth yet. Ghana&#8217;s cocoa output for the 2023/24 season is expected to be almost 40% below target due to factors like strong winds, scant rain, smuggling and disease. Growth in the cocoa sub-sector contracted 1.1% in the last quarter of 2023.



(Reporting by Christian Akorlie and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Bate Felix and Bernadette Baum)

2JI3RXOROJL6DPHC5F7JG6RGEE

Ghana economic growth improves in Q4, but slows to 2.9% in 2023

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="571" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LZJDLC7DLROENA6JMXYHS2EK2E-820x571.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-468260" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LZJDLC7DLROENA6JMXYHS2EK2E-820x571.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LZJDLC7DLROENA6JMXYHS2EK2E-300x209.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LZJDLC7DLROENA6JMXYHS2EK2E-129x90.jpg 129w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LZJDLC7DLROENA6JMXYHS2EK2E-768x535.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LZJDLC7DLROENA6JMXYHS2EK2E-1536x1070.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LZJDLC7DLROENA6JMXYHS2EK2E-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A woman uses a trolley as she shops at a Pick n Pay store at the Dobson Point Shopping Centre, in Soweto, South Africa, March 19, 2024. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 20 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s consumer inflation rose for the second month in a row in February to 5.6% year on year from 5.3% in January, statistics agency data showed on Wednesday.



The South African Reserve Bank, which targets inflation of between 3% and 6%, will announce a monetary policy decision next week.



The central bank is expected to wait until the third quarter of this year before announcing any rate cuts, a February poll showed.



Core inflation, which excludes food and fuel prices, accelerated in February to 5.0% in annual terms from 4.6% in January. 



(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)

A woman uses a trolley as she shops at a Pick n Pay store, in Soweto

South Africa consumer inflation rises in February

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107383365-1709744654471-gettyimages-2063429669-_s2_1499_zbm0kcgb-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-468257" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107383365-1709744654471-gettyimages-2063429669-_s2_1499_zbm0kcgb-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107383365-1709744654471-gettyimages-2063429669-_s2_1499_zbm0kcgb-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107383365-1709744654471-gettyimages-2063429669-_s2_1499_zbm0kcgb-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107383365-1709744654471-gettyimages-2063429669-_s2_1499_zbm0kcgb-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107383365-1709744654471-gettyimages-2063429669-_s2_1499_zbm0kcgb.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 06, 2024 in Washington, DC.  Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The Federal Reserve has a lot to do at its meeting this week, but ultimately may not end up doing a whole lot in terms of changing the outlook for monetary policy.



In addition to releasing its rate decision after the meeting wraps up Wednesday, the central bank will update its economic projections as well as its unofficial forecast for the direction of interest rates over the next several years.



As expectations have swung sharply this year for where the Fed is headed, this week’s two-day session of the Federal Open Market Committee will draw careful scrutiny for any clues about the direction of interest rates.



Yet the general feeling is that policymakers will stick to their recent messaging, which has emphasized a patient, data-driven approach with no hurry to cut rates until there’s greater visibility on inflation.



“They’ll make it clear that they’re obviously not ready to cut rates. They need a few more data points to feel confident that inflation is heading back to target,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “I expect them to reaffirm three rate cuts this year, so that would suggest the first rate cut would be in June.”



Markets have had to adjust to the Fed’s approach on the fly, scaling back both the timing and frequency of expected cuts this year. Earlier this year, traders in the fed funds futures market were anticipating the rate-cutting campaign to kick off in March and continue until the FOMC had cut the equivalent of six or seven times in increments of quarter percentage points.



Now, the market has pushed out the timing until at least June, with only three cuts anticipated from the current target range of 5.25%-5.5% for the Fed’s benchmark overnight borrowing rate.



The swing in expectations will make how the central bank delivers its message this week all the more important. Here’s a quick look at what to expect:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-dot-plot"><a></a>The ‘dot plot’</h2>



Though the quarterly plot of individual members’ expectations is pretty arcane, this meeting likely will be all about the dots. Specifically, investors will look at how the 19 FOMC members, both voters and nonvoters, will indicate their expectations for rates through the end of the year and out to 2026 and beyond.



When the matrix was last updated in December, the dots pointed to three cuts in 2024, four in 2025, three more in 2026, and then two more at some point to take the long-range federal funds rate down to around 2.5%, which the Fed considers “neutral” — neither promoting nor restricting growth.



Doing the math, it would only take two FOMC members to get more hawkish to reduce the rate cuts this year to two. That, however, is not the general expectation.



“It only takes two individual dots moving higher to raise the 2024 median. Three dots are enough to push the long-run dot 25bp higher,” Citigroup economist Andrew Hollenhorst said in a client note. “But the combination of inconclusive activity data and slowing year-on-year core inflation should be just enough to keep dots in place and [Fed Chair Jerome] Powell still guiding that the committee is on track to gain ‘greater confidence’ to cut policy rates this year.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>The rate call for March</h2>



More immediately, the FOMC will conduct a largely academic vote on what to do with rates now.



Simply put, there is zero chance the committee votes to cut rates at this week. The statement from the last meeting all but ruled out an imminent move, and public statements from virtually every Fed speaker since then have also ruled out a decrease.



What this statement could indicate is perhaps a thawing in the outlook and an adjustment of the bar that the data will need to clear to justify future cuts.



“We still expect the Fed to cut interest rates in June, although we don’t expect officials to provide a strong steer either for or against” following the March meeting, wrote Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>The economic outlook</h2>



Along with the “dot plot,” the Fed will release its quarterly update on the economy, specifically for gross domestic product, inflation and the unemployment rate. Collectively, the estimates are known as the Summary of Economic Projections, or SEP.



Again, there’s not a lot of expectations that the Fed will change its outlook from December, which reflected cuts for inflation and an upgrade for GDP. For this meeting, the focus will fall squarely on inflation and how that affects the expectations for rates.



“While inflation has hit a bump in the road, the activity data suggest the economy is not overheating,” Bank of America economist Michael Gapen wrote. “We think the Fed will still forecast three cuts this year, but it is a very close call.”



Most economists think the Fed could raise its GDP forecast again, though not dramatically, while possibly tweaking the inflation outlook a touch higher.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Big picture</h2>



On a broader scale, markets likely will be looking for the Fed to follow the recent plotline of fewer cuts this year — but still cuts. There also will be some anticipation over what policymakers say about its balance sheet reduction. Powell has indicated the issue will be discussed at this meeting, and some details could emerge of when and how the Fed will slow and ultimately halt the reduction in its bond holdings.



It won’t be just Wall Street watching, either.



Though not official policy, most central banks around the world take their cues from the Fed. When the U.S. central bank says it is moving cautiously because it fears inflation could spike again if it eases too soon, its global counterparts take notice.



With worries escalating over growth in some parts of the globe, central bankers also want some type of go signal. Higher interest rates tend to put upward pressure on currencies and raise prices for goods and services.



“The rest of the world is waiting for the Fed,” said Zandi, the Moody’s economist. “They would prefer not to have their currencies fall in value and put further upward pressure on inflation. So they would really, really like the Fed to start leading the way.”

107383365-1709744654471-gettyimages-2063429669-_s2_1499_zbm0kcgb

Here’s everything to expect from the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting Wednesday

<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/FMO2CUINZBL7VHZGL7YQ5AF4UM-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-468228" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FMO2CUINZBL7VHZGL7YQ5AF4UM-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FMO2CUINZBL7VHZGL7YQ5AF4UM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FMO2CUINZBL7VHZGL7YQ5AF4UM-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FMO2CUINZBL7VHZGL7YQ5AF4UM-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FMO2CUINZBL7VHZGL7YQ5AF4UM-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FMO2CUINZBL7VHZGL7YQ5AF4UM.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva meets with Zambia&#8217;s Minister of Finance Situmbeko Musokotwane and Governor of the Bank of Zambia Denny Kalyalya at the Ministry of Finance in Lusaka, Zambia January 23, 2023. IMF Photo/Kim Haughton/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON/NEW YORK, March 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A group of Zambia&#8217;s international bondholders has signed a non-disclosure agreement with the government to discuss a $3 billion debt restructuring proposal, three sources familiar with&nbsp;the situation&nbsp;said on Tuesday.



The government sent a formal debt rework proposal to the steering committee of the creditor group last week, two of the sources said. Entering into a non-disclosure agreement usually marks the start of formal restructuring talks.



A Zambian finance ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Advisers for the creditor group declined to comment.



Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema in late February said the last remaining official creditors, China and India, had signed restructuring agreements, raising hopes that the much-delayed restructuring process would soon be finished.



The official creditors had objected to previous bondholder deals on the grounds that they did not offer comparable debt relief to theirs, but did not say at the time what the bondholders needed to propose instead.



Zambia has three defaulted bonds outstanding, with original maturities in 2022, 2024 and 2027.



Zambia was the first African country to default in the COVID-19 era, in late 2020, but its restructuring process has been beset by setbacks, with the rejection of the bondholder deals last year being only the latest.



(Reporting by Libby George, Rodrigo Campos and Rachel Savage; Editing by Karin Strohecker, Leslie Adler and Mark Porter)

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Zambia bondholders begin formal talks on $3 billion debt rework proposal, sources say

<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)

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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="510" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107389251-1710843088447-gettyimages-901988866-AFP_VS5GN-820x510.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-467993" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107389251-1710843088447-gettyimages-901988866-AFP_VS5GN-820x510.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107389251-1710843088447-gettyimages-901988866-AFP_VS5GN-300x186.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107389251-1710843088447-gettyimages-901988866-AFP_VS5GN-145x90.jpeg 145w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107389251-1710843088447-gettyimages-901988866-AFP_VS5GN-768x477.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107389251-1710843088447-gettyimages-901988866-AFP_VS5GN-1536x954.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107389251-1710843088447-gettyimages-901988866-AFP_VS5GN-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A man walks past a poster that informs customers that bitcoin can be used in this shop in Tokyo on January 06, 2018.  Toru Yamanaka | Afp | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Japan’s government pension fund on Tuesday said it is requesting information on “illiquidity assets” such as bitcoin, as part of research into potential new investments.



The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) of Japan, the world’s largest pension fund by assets under management on several different rankings, said it is looking for “basic information” on illiquid assets other than those in which it already invests.



GPIF said it currently puts funds in domestic and foreign bonds and stocks, real estate, infrastructure and private equity. It is now looking for information about other assets such as forests, farmland, gold and bitcoin and how these might be incorporated into the portfolio of pension funds.



There is no indication that GPIF will invest in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.



GPIF’s statement comes days after bitcoin hit an all-time high and after the world’s largest cryptocurrency has rallied more than 130% over the last year.



That rally is in part thanks to the launch of bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. this year, which has attracted billions of dollars of inflows.



Pension funds have been very cautious about stepping into cryptocurrency investments due to the latter’s volatile nature. Some have nevertheless dipped their toes, with South Korea’s pension fund — the National Pension Service — buying shares of Coinbase last year.



In Japan, the government in February proposed a law that would, if passed, allow investment funds to hold digital assets like cryptocurrencies.

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World’s largest pension fund explores bitcoin as an investment

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="405" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107389217-1710835109118-gettyimages-1832684732-ETHIOPIA_ECO.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-467962" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107389217-1710835109118-gettyimages-1832684732-ETHIOPIA_ECO.jpeg 720w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107389217-1710835109118-gettyimages-1832684732-ETHIOPIA_ECO-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107389217-1710835109118-gettyimages-1832684732-ETHIOPIA_ECO-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia &#8211; Dec. 7, 2023: A branch of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Ethiopia’s largest bank is struggling to recoup millions of dollars after a glitch over the weekend allowed customers to withdraw unlimited funds, according to local media reports.



More than $40 million was reportedly withdrawn from the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia or transferred to other banks, as customers discovered they could withdraw more than their total balance. Transactions were halted several hours later.



The bank’s President Abie Sano told a press conference on Monday that a large portion of the cash was withdrawn by students, with the BBC reporting that long lines formed at campus ATMs.



Several universities have urged students to return cash that isn’t theirs, and Sano reportedly told Monday’s press conference that anybody who returns the money will not be criminally prosecuted.



In a post on X, the CBE confirmed the service interruption but denied that it was the result of a cyber attack. It added that its ATM services were now “fully operational,” according to a Google translation.



Ethiopia’s central bank, which oversees its financial sector, said in a statement that the interruption was a result of system security checks and “not an incident that endangers the bank, its customers and the entire financial system,” according to a Google translation.



CNBC has contacted the CBE for comment.

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‘Glitch’ at Ethiopia’s biggest bank sees customers withdraw millions that isn’t theirs

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107386016-1710228393384-gettyimages-1434261548-banderajaponyyen9-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-467930" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107386016-1710228393384-gettyimages-1434261548-banderajaponyyen9-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107386016-1710228393384-gettyimages-1434261548-banderajaponyyen9-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107386016-1710228393384-gettyimages-1434261548-banderajaponyyen9-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107386016-1710228393384-gettyimages-1434261548-banderajaponyyen9-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107386016-1710228393384-gettyimages-1434261548-banderajaponyyen9-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107386016-1710228393384-gettyimages-1434261548-banderajaponyyen9-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An editorial montage of the Japan flag and Japanese yen cash bank notes Javier Ghersi | Moment | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Japan’s central bank raised interest rates on Tuesday for the first time since 2007, ending the world’s only negative rates regime and other unconventional policy easing measures enacted over the course of the last few decades to combat deflation.



These changes mark a historic shift and represent the sharpest pull back in one of the most aggressive monetary easing exercises in the world, which was aimed at reflating prices in the Japanese economy. The BOJ’s actions also precede the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later this week.



“The likelihood of inflation stably achieving our target has been heightening &#8230; the likelihood reached a certain threshold that resulted in today’s decision,” BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said at a press conference after the central bank’s decision, according to a translation provided by Reuters.



The Bank of Japan though cautioned it’s not about to embark on aggressive rate hikes, saying that it “anticipates that accommodative financial conditions will be maintained for the time being,” given the fragile growth in the world’s fourth-largest economy.



“If the likelihood heightens further and trend inflation accelerates a bit more, that will lead to a further increase in short-term rates,” Ueda said. He added though there is still “some distance for inflation expectations to reach 2%.”



The BOJ raised its short-term interest rates to around 0% to 0.1% from -0.1% at the end of its two-day March policy meeting. Japan’s negative rates regime had been in place since 2016.



It also abolished its radical yield curve control policy for Japanese sovereign bonds, which the central bank has employed to target longer-term interest rates by buying and selling bonds as necessary.



The central bank though will continue purchasing government bonds worth “broadly the same amount” as before — currently about 6 trillion yen per month.



It would resort to “nimble responses” in the form of increased JGB purchases and fixed-rate purchases of JGBs, among other things, if there is a rapid rise in long-term interest rates.



Scaling back its asset purchases and quantitative easing, the BOJ said it would stop buying exchange-traded funds and Japan real estate investment trusts (J-REITS). It also pledged to slowly reduce its purchases of commercial paper and corporate bonds, with the aim of stopping this practice in about a year.



“As for the future, we will at some point eye shrinking our balance sheet given we’ve ended our extraordinary monetary easing. But we can’t specify now when that will happen,” Ueda told reporters.



He described the BOJ’s JGB and ETF holdings as “remnants of the extraordinary monetary easing scheme,” while deferring questions on the impact of the central banks’ unorthodox policies until an ongoing review is completed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-yen-weakens-yields-slip"><a></a>Yen weakens, yields slip</h2>



The yen weakened sharply to beyond 150 to the dollar — a level that’s previously prompted intervention from Japanese authorities.



Yields on the 10-year Japanese government bonds slipped, while the Nikkei stock index ended slightly up in a volatile session after the rate decision and ahead of a public holiday in Japan.



“As always, I won’t comment on short-term currency moves,” Ueda said at the press conference. “But if currency moves have a big impact on our economic and price forecasts, we will stand ready to take an appropriate monetary policy response.”



Financial markets had repositioned over the past week as local Japanese news reports and preliminary wage negotiation results fanned speculation that the BOJ could normalize rates a month earlier, ahead of its April meeting.



Ongoing “shunto” spring wage negotiations between Japan Inc and its unionized workers have so far yielded a weighted average 3.7% spike in base pay, Rengo, Japan’s largest federation of trade unions said Friday in its first provisional update.



This is even more robust than last year’s gains, which were the steepest spike in three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Inflation target</h2>



The BOJ had barely budged from its&nbsp;ultra-loose monetary policy&nbsp;posture despite “core core inflation” — which excludes food and energy prices — exceeding its 2% target for more than a year, as policymakers viewed price increases were largely imported.



BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda had repeatedly said the outcome of this year’s annual “shunto” wage negotiations would be key to sustainable price increases. The Bank of Japan expects higher salaries to lead to a virtuous spiral with domestic demand fueling inflation.



“Services prices have continued to increase moderately, partly due to the moderate wage increases seen thus far,” the BOJ said in a statement.



“As these recent data and anecdotal information have gradually shown that the virtuous cycle between wages and prices has become more solid, the Bank judged it came in sight that the prices stability target would be achieved in a sustainable and stable manner toward the end of the projection period of the January 2024 outlook report,” it added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Uncertain outlook</h2>



With inflation slowing and an economy that barely averted a technical recession toward the end of last year, Ueda flagged some possible headwinds.



“There are numerous risks surrounding the global economy such as the chance of a negative market shock. There’s also the risk that consumption may not recover as much as expected,” he said.



High inflation has crimped domestic demand and private consumption. Private consumption fell 0.3% in the fourth quarter from the previous one — more than the provisional estimates of a 0.2% decline.



“If our price forecast clearly overshoots or, even if our median forecast is unchanged, we see a clear increase in upside risk to the price outlook, that will likely lead to a policy change,” Ueda said.



Investors and market watchers may have to wait for the BOJ to update its economic forecast at its April meeting, where the central bank is expected to release its 2026 forecast.



“Japan’s expectation of inflation, when looking at a timespan of 5 to 10 years, is likely somewhere around 1-1.5% &#8230; At present, real interest rate is likely deeply in negative territory. Unless the neutral, real rate of interest is very deeply in negative territory, we can say&nbsp;Japan’s monetary condition is accommodative,” he said.

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Bank of Japan ends the world’s only negative rates regime in a historic move, abandons yield curve control

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388760-1710772295032-gettyimages-2087312988-CERAWEEK_2024-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-467884" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388760-1710772295032-gettyimages-2087312988-CERAWEEK_2024-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388760-1710772295032-gettyimages-2087312988-CERAWEEK_2024-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388760-1710772295032-gettyimages-2087312988-CERAWEEK_2024-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388760-1710772295032-gettyimages-2087312988-CERAWEEK_2024-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388760-1710772295032-gettyimages-2087312988-CERAWEEK_2024-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388760-1710772295032-gettyimages-2087312988-CERAWEEK_2024-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, speaks at the 2024 CERAWeek by S&amp;P Global conference in Houston, Texas, on March 18, 2024. F. Carter Smith | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



HOUSTON — Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said Monday that the energy transition is failing and policymakers should abandon the “fantasy” of phasing out oil and gas, as demand for fossil fuels is expected to continue to grow in the coming years.



“In the real world, the current transition strategy is visibly failing on most fronts as it collides with five hard realities,” Nasser said during a panel interview at the CERAWeek by S&amp;P Global energy conference in Houston, Texas.



“A transition strategy reset is urgently needed and my proposal is this: We should abandon the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas and instead invest in them adequately reflecting realistic demand assumptions,” the CEO said to applause from the audience.



The Paris-based International Energy Agency forecast last year that peak oil, gas and coal demand would come in 2030. Nasser said demand is unlikely to peak anytime soon, let alone by that year. Nasser suggested that the IEA is focusing on demand in the U.S. and Europe and needs to focus on the developing world as well.



Nasser said alternative energy sources have been unable to displace hydrocarbons at scale, despite the world investing more than $9.5 trillion over the past two decades. Wind and solar currently supply less than 4% of the world’s energy, while total electric vehicle penetration is less than 3%, he said.



Meanwhile, the share of hydrocarbons in the global energy mix has barely fallen in the 21st century from 83% to 80%, Nasser said. Global demand has increased by 100 million barrels of oil equivalent per day during the same period and will reach an all-time high this year, the CEO said.



Gas has grown 70% since the start of the century, Nasser said. The transition from coal to gas is responsible for two-thirds of the reductions in carbon emissions in the U.S., he said.



“This is hardly the future picture some have been painting,” Nasser said. “Even they are starting to acknowledge the importance of oil and gas security.”



Developing nations in the global south, meanwhile, will drive oil and gas demand as prosperity rises in those nations, which represent more than 85% of the world’s population, the CEO said. These nations receive less than 5% of the investment targeting renewable energy, he said.



Nasser said the world should focus more on reducing emissions from oil and gas in addition to renewables. The CEO said efficiency improvements alone over the past 15 years have reduced global energy demand by almost 90 million barrels per day oil equivalent. Wind and solar, meanwhile, have substituted only 15 million barrels over the same period, he said.



“We should phase in new energy sources and technologies when they are genuinely ready, economically competitive and with the right infrastructure,” Nasser said.

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Saudi Aramco CEO says energy transition is failing, world should abandon ‘fantasy’ of phasing out 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/2024/03/107366350-17066268512024-01-30t110014z_2101305001_rc2as5axkmg4_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-balance-sheet-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-467638" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107366350-17066268512024-01-30t110014z_2101305001_rc2as5axkmg4_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-balance-sheet-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107366350-17066268512024-01-30t110014z_2101305001_rc2as5axkmg4_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-balance-sheet-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107366350-17066268512024-01-30t110014z_2101305001_rc2as5axkmg4_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-balance-sheet-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107366350-17066268512024-01-30t110014z_2101305001_rc2as5axkmg4_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-balance-sheet-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107366350-17066268512024-01-30t110014z_2101305001_rc2as5axkmg4_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-balance-sheet-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107366350-17066268512024-01-30t110014z_2101305001_rc2as5axkmg4_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-balance-sheet-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An eagle tops the U.S. Federal Reserve building’s facade in Washington, July 31, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/ Jonathan Ernst | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank look poised to make “major progress” in cutting interest rates this year, according to the central bank of central banks.



Agustín Carstens, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, told CNBC on Monday that major central banks had so far made “very impressive advances” in lowering inflation and suggested that they could soon shift toward a looser monetary policy stance.



“If everything goes fine, I think that, certainly this year, we will see major progress, especially toward the second part of the year,” Carstens told Annette Weisbach.



BIS serves as a bank and forum for national central banks, and as such has close understanding of their monetary policies. It holds no sway over policymakers’ decision-making.



Carstens warned that the “last mile” on the path of disinflation was likely to prove the trickiest.



“We have done the tightening, but the effect on the rest of the economy is still going. The uncertainty is how much impact will that be,” he said.



“Central bankers have to be very observant about the path of disinflation, and they have to keep going until the job is fully done.”



Investors are closely watching the future course for interest rates, with expectations of a shift toward looser monetary policy already bringing some relief to markets after months of interest rate hikes designed to dampen persistently high inflation.



During its March meeting, the ECB held interest rates steady, but hinted at a June rate cut as it trimmed its annual inflation forecast. ECB chief economist Philip Lane sought to temper those expectations last week, telling CNBC that any decision would depend on the latest economic data.



The Fed and the Bank of England are expected to shine future light on their plans for interest rates during their monetary policy meetings this week.



Higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data released on Thursday prompted some economists to curb predictions for a swathe of 2023 cuts. JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs said they now see the Fed reducing rates three times this year from June onwards.



The BoE is also expected to lower rates starting from June, according to analysts, with Goldman Sachs forecasting as many as five 25 basis point cuts.



The Bank of Japan is meanwhile predicted to lift interest rates on Tuesday, according to a Reuters poll, marking a major turn in its nearly two-decade-long cycle of negative interest rates.

107366350-17066268512024-01-30t110014z_2101305001_rc2as5axkmg4_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-balance-sheet

Fed and other banks to make ‘major progress’ on rates this year, BIS chief says

<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="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388485-1710716931527-gettyimages-2079406255-cfoto-realesta240315_npjH7-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-467526" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388485-1710716931527-gettyimages-2079406255-cfoto-realesta240315_npjH7-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388485-1710716931527-gettyimages-2079406255-cfoto-realesta240315_npjH7-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388485-1710716931527-gettyimages-2079406255-cfoto-realesta240315_npjH7-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388485-1710716931527-gettyimages-2079406255-cfoto-realesta240315_npjH7-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388485-1710716931527-gettyimages-2079406255-cfoto-realesta240315_npjH7-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107388485-1710716931527-gettyimages-2079406255-cfoto-realesta240315_npjH7-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">High-rise residential and commercial buildings are being constructed near Dongyu Road, Qiantan, in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai, China, on March 15, 2024.  Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



BEIJING — &nbsp;China’s economic data for the first two months of the year beat analysts’ expectations across the board on Monday.



Retail sales rose 5.5%, better than the 5.2% increase forecast in a Reuters poll, while industrial production climbed 7%, compared with estimates of 5% growth.



Fixed asset investment rose by 4.2%, more than the 3.2% estimated by analysts.



The unemployment rate in February for cities came in at 5.3%.



Online retail sales of physical goods rose 14.4% from a year earlier during the first two months of the year.



Investment into real estate fell 9% in the first two months of the year from a year ago. Investment in infrastructure rose by 6.3% while those in manufacturing increased by 9.4% during that time.



“We believe China’s sequential growth momentum remained solid in Q1 despite notable divergence across sectors,” Goldman Sachs analysts said in a report Monday following the data release.



“However, to secure the ambitious “around 5%” growth target this year, more policy easing is still necessary, especially on the demand-side (e.g., fiscal, housing and consumption).”



Despite the upbeat results, National Bureau of Statistics Spokesperson Liu Aihua cautioned that domestic demand remains insufficient.



She told reporters that real estate remains in a period of “adjustment,” and that the overall economy is “in a critical period of recovery, transformation and upgrading,” according to a CNBC translation of her comments in Mandarin.



When asked about the unemployment rate for people aged 16 to 24, Liu said the figures would be released a few days after the monthly press conference on economic data.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-holiday-boost"><a></a>Holiday boost</h2>



Economic figures for January and February are typically combined in China to smooth out variations from the Lunar New Year, which can fall in either month depending on the calendar year. It is the country’s biggest national holiday, in which factories and businesses remain closed for at least a week.



This year, the number of domestic tourist trips and revenue during the holiday grew compared with last year as well as pre-pandemic figures from 2019. But Nomura’s Chief China Economist Ting Lu pointed out that “average tourism spending per trip was still 9.5% below pre-pandemic levels in 2019.”



Retail sales did not rebound from the pandemic as strongly as many had expected as consumers have grown uncertain about their future income.



“Consumers were buoyed temporarily by festivities-related spending at this start of the year. In the absence of decisive consumption-related stimulus this year, we think it would be difficult to sustain a robust consumer spending pace this year,” Oxford Economics’ Chief Economist Louise Loo said in a report on Monday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lackluster-demand"><a></a>Lackluster demand</h2>



New loans in February missed expectations and fell from the prior month, “even after adjusting for seasonality,” Goldman Sachs analysts said in a report on Friday.



“The persistent weakness in property transactions and low consumer sentiment may continue to weigh on household borrowing,” the analysts said. “More monetary policy easing is needed.”



People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng said earlier this month there was still room to cut the reserve requirement ratio, or the amount of cash banks need to have on hand.



Goldman expects 25 basis point cuts to that ratio in the second quarter of this year, as well as in the fourth quarter.



Real estate, which accounts for a significant part of household assets, has slumped over the last few years after Beijing’s crackdown on developers’ high reliance on debt for growth.



The average property price for 70 major Chinese cities fell by 4.5% in February from January on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, according to Goldman Sachs’ analysis using a weighted average of official figures.



That’s steeper than the 3.5% month-on-month drop in property prices in January, Goldman Sachs said.



“Our high frequency tracker suggests that 30-city new home transaction volume declined by 53.2% [year-on-year] in early March after adjusting to the lunar calendar basis,” the analysts said in a report.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-focus-on-manufacturing"><a></a>Focus on manufacturing</h2>



Chinese authorities did not reveal significant new support for the massive real estate sector during an annual parliamentary meeting that ended last week.



Instead, Beijing emphasized the country’s focus on developing manufacturing and technological capabilities.



When asked Monday about overcapacity concerns, Liu said that China’s manufacturing capacity utilization rate was 76% in the fourth quarter, a 0.2 percentage point increase from a year earlier.



She described efforts to increase the level of high-end manufacturing a “strategic decision for achieving high-quality development,” while noting that efforts are needed to prevent inefficient and ineffective investments in the sector.



Data earlier this month showed China’s exports for January and February rose by 7.1% in U.S. dollar terms, beating expectations for a 1.9% increase.



Imports climbed by 3.5% during that time, also topping Reuters’ forecast for growth of 1.5%.

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