Oil prices dropped sharply on Friday, reaching their lowest point since January. This decline followed reports indicating that the U.S. economy added fewer jobs than anticipated last month, coupled with disappointing economic data from China. Brent crude futures fell 3.41% to $76.81 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures decreased by 3.66%, ending at $73.52.

The Bank of England cut interest rates from a 16-year high on Thursday. Rate was cut by a quarter-point to 5%. Rates have been on hold for almost a full year , the longest period rates have been left unchanged at the peak of a BoE tightening cycle since 2001 and this is the first cut in rates since March 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. British consumer price inflation returned to the BoE’s 2% target in May and stayed there in June, down from a 41-year high of 11.1% struck in October 2022.

Egypt’s net foreign assets (NFAs) stayed positive for a second straight month in June having been deeply negative for more than two years. NFAs slid to 626.6 billion Egyptian pounds in June from 676.4 billion pounds recorded in May ending. This works out to $13.05 billion at end-June and $14.31 billion at end-May. Egypt has been using its NFAs, which include foreign assets at both the central bank and commercial banks, to help prop up its currency since at least September 2021. NFAs turned negative in February 2022.

Nigeria is set to boost its crude oil production with the launch of a new terminal, Utapate, in the Niger Delta region. Utapate, a subsidiary of state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, and venture partner Natural Oilfield Services Limited. The new terminal produced almost 19,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June and is projected to reach a production capacity of 50,000 bpd by the end of the year, making it a significant crude grade in the country. The additional grade is part of Nigeria’s effort to increase its oil production from the current 1.27 million bdp to 2 million bpd, which was what the country was producing before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

The World Bank has restructured a $350 million loan to Nigeria to ensure the completion of seven critical power plants in educational institutions, bolstering the nation’s energy infrastructure. The Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) focuses on several components, including the development of private sector mini-grids, expansion of standalone solar systems for poor and vulnerable households, and provision of sustainable power to public universities and associated teaching hospitals. the total commitment for the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) is $350 million. However, $265.32 million has been disbursed, leaving an undisbursed balance of $84.68 million.