Oil prices rose over 2% on Wednesday due to concerns about extended production interruptions in the U.S. offshore oil industry. These fears were driven by Hurricane Francine, which was moving toward Louisiana and threatening to disrupt oil extraction and processing in the region. Brent crude futures settled at $70.61 a barrel, up by 2.05%, on Wednesday while U.S. crude futures finished up by 2.37%, at $67.31.
U.S. August CPI Nudges Higher
U.S. consumer prices surged marginally in August, dampening the hope of a further rate cut by 50bps.Food prices edged up 0.1% after climbing 0.2% in each of the past two months .The costs of energy products dropped 0.8% after being unchanged in July. Gasoline prices fell 0.6%, while electricity was 0.7% cheaper and natural gas cost 1.9% less. Year on year, the CPI dipped to 2.5% from 2.9% in July. However, annual consumer price growth has slowed considerably from a peak of 9.1% in June 2022 as higher borrowing costs curb demand. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI climbed 0.3% in August after rising 0.2% in July.
Ghana’s Inflation Rate Falls To 20.4% In August
Ghana’s annual inflation declined to a 29-month low in August 2024, raising the likelihood of an interest rate cut by September30. The inflation rate slowed by 2.39% to 20.4%, down from 20.9% recorded in July. The decline was buoyed by drop in the prices of key food items like milk, oils, fats, and fruits and nuts. Food price growth slowed significantly, easing to 19.1% in August from 21.5% in the previous month. Conversely, non-food inflation edged up to 21.5% from 20.5%. On a month-to-month basis, overall prices declined by 0.7%. The MPC has maintained the key interest rate at 29% since a rate cut in January, aiming to stabilize the cedi and prevent the currency’s depreciation
Nigeria’s First Domestic Dollar Bond Yields $900m
Nigeria has successfully launched its first-ever domestic dollar-denominated bond, seeing over $900 million in subscriptions. The five-year bond, which was issued at par with a 9.75% annual coupon with a subscription of at-least $10,000, witnessed a 180% subscription. investors for this bond issuance ranged from local Nigerians and non-Nigerians residing in the country to Nigerians in the Diaspora and major institutional investors, showing strong domestic confidence in Nigeria’s economic growth prospects.
