Crude oil prices was down by 1% on Tuesday, wiping out the previous day’s gain. The downward pressure in prices was bolstered by weak U.S. consumer confidence data, posing a lot of worries as regards summer driving demand. Brent Futures for August was down 1.2% closing at $85.01 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures settled at $80.83, declining by 1%.
Nigeria Records FX Inflows Amidst Surging Debt
The monetary policy tool employed by the apex bank (CBN) has been yielding bountiful fruit bringing about a total foreign exchange inflow of about $24 billion in the first quarter of 2024.This is the highest FX liquidity recorded since Q1’ 2021. Nigeria recorded a total foreign portfolio inflow of N93.37 billion in April against a foreign outflow of N119.81 billion and in terms of public debt, the country is experiencing a worst scenario with public debt surging by 25% hitting 121.67 trillion.
Canada’s Inflation Leaps By 2.9% In May
In May 2024, Canada’s annual inflation rate increased to 2.9% from a recent low of 2.7%, defying market expectations of a slowdown to 2.6%. This rise aligns closely with the Bank of Canada’s forecast that inflation would hover around the 3% mark in the first half of the year. The halt to the disinflation trend contradicted earlier predictions that the central bank would continue to ease monetary policy. Notably, transportation costs saw a 3.5% increase compared to April’s 3.1%, driven by a 4.5% rise in air transportation prices. Food prices also saw higher inflation at 2.5%, up from 2.4% in April, with grocery costs rising 1.5% against 1.4% previously. Additionally, inflation accelerated in health and personal care, reaching 3.6% compared to 3% in April. Overall, the Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.6% during this period.
Morocco Cuts Interest Rate 25bps
The Apex Bank of Morocco cut its benchmark interest rate by 25basis points to 2.75% from 3%, marking the first change after four consecutive meetings. The hawkish stance was as a result of continuing decline in inflation. However, Annual inflation rate in May 2024 stood at 0.4%, declining sharply from 2.3% at the beginning of the year. The 2023 annual national accounts highlighted faster non-agricultural growth and improved household consumption compared to quarterly data. However, the board noted that despite these positive indicators, uncertainty remains high due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, particularly in Ukraine and the Middle East and that it will continue to monitor economic and inflationary trends both domestically and internationally.
