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Oil prices climbed over 2% on Tuesday as tensions between Israel and Lebanon and expectations of extended OPEC+ supply cuts boosted the market. Brent crude rose $1.79 (2.5%) to $73.62, while WTI gained $1.84 (2.7%) to $69.94. OPEC+ is likely to extend cuts through Q1 2024, aiming to stabilize prices amid weak demand and rising U.S. crude inventories. U.S. Job Openings Grow in October, Layoffs Hit 1.5-Year Low U.S. job openings rose by 372,000 to 7.744 million in October, while layoffs dropped to their lowest level in over a year, indicating an orderly slowdown in the labor market. Despite more vacancies, hiring declined by 269,000, particularly in construction and manufacturing. The job openings-to-unemployed ratio increased to 1.11, still below pre-pandemic levels. With worker confidence rising, the Federal Reserve may consider another interest rate cut to combat inflation. UK Retail Sales Hit by Black Friday Shift and Low Consumer Confidence Retail sales in November dropped 3.3%, the sharpest decline since April, as Black Friday spending moved to December, the BRC reported. Non-food sales fell 2.1% over three months, while food sales rose 2.4%. Rising energy costs and low confidence continued to weigh on spending. Barclays noted a 3.1% drop in essential spending, the steepest in five years, with supermarket sales down 1.8%. Non-essential spending rose slightly, driven by cinema ticket purchases. Overall card spending declined 0.5%, the first dip since July. South Africa’s Economy Shrinks in Q3 Amid Agricultural Slump South Africa’s GDP contracted by 0.3% in Q3 2024, contrary to economists’ forecasts of 0.5% growth, largely due to a 28.8% decline in agriculture caused by a severe drought. While mining, manufacturing, and construction sectors grew, the agricultural slump drove overall negative growth. Analysts remain optimistic about a rebound in the coming quarters, with expectations of modest recovery despite the downturn. Nigeria’s Private Sector Sees Employment Decline Amid Inflation The November Stanbic IBTC PMI® report shows a slight drop in private sector employment, ending a six-month growth streak. The decline, mainly in the services sector, reflects rising costs and weak demand. While new orders grew modestly, high prices continued to limit demand, and output fell for the fifth straight month. Business confidence hit a record low due to ongoing inflationary pressures. The PMI rose to 49.6 from 46.9 in October, signaling continued contraction, although Nigeria’s non-oil GDP grew by 3.46% in Q3 2024, with Q4 growth forecast at 3.2%.

Oil  Registers Weekly Loss As Low Demand From China Impacts Market

On Friday, oil prices concluded with a 1% decrease and experienced a more significant decline for the week.This decline was due to lower demand from china which is the highest importer of crude in the word, despite the OPEC+ producer group deciding to extend supply cuts. Brent crude futures was down by 1.1% to close at $82.08 a barrel while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) dropped by 1.2% closing at $78.01 per barrel. However, both benchmarks fell in the week, with Brent down by 1.8% and WTI by 2.5%.

Forex Inflow Surges On Rise In Overseas Remittances

Foreign exchange inflows to Nigeria rose to $2.3 billion in February, fuelled by renewed interest from foreign investors and a rise in overseas remittances. foreign investors bought at least $1 billion of Nigerian assets last month, bringing total receipts of portfolio inflows to $2.3 billion. That compares with $3.9 billion for the whole of 2023. There was a significant surge in overseas remittances to $1.3 billion in February, a more than fourfold increase from the previous month’s $300 million. Higher forex inflows have continued in March as a result of increased investor interest in short-term sovereign debt after the CBN hiked its key interest rate  to 22.75%, the highest in around 17 years to tame soaring inflation.

At the CBN’s Open Market Operation auction on March 6 when it sold securities worth 1.053 trillion naira, bids from foreign investors accounted for 79% of the total, or $530 million

Egypt’s annual urban inflation jumps to 35.7% in February

Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation jumped to 35.7% in February from 29.8% recorded in January, driven mainly by a rise in food and beverage prices. Egypt’s inflation rate had been falling from a historic high of 38.0% in September 2023, Month-on-month prices rose by 11.4% in February, up from just 1.6% in January. While Food prices surged by 15.9%, up from 1.4% in January. Core inflation, which excludes fuel and some volatile food items, rose to 35.1% in February from 29% in January. Additionally, the local currency was devalued from 30.85 to 50 against the USD by the country’s apex bank.

India’s Modi cuts cooking gas cylinder price by 100 rupees, ahead of  election

India has decided to reduce the cost of a cooking gas cylinder by 100 rupees ($1.2), a move seen as targeting women voters days before national elections are called. The price reduction will ease the financial burden on millions of households across the country, mainly benefiting women. A 14.2 kg (31.31 lb) cooking gas cylinder costs around 900 rupees ($11) in the capital Delhi.

 

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