Reuters Africa

Red Sea ship diversions boost bunker demand, prices in Africa, Mediterranean

By Jeslyn Lerh, Wendell Roelf and Robert Harvey SINGAPORE/CAPE TOWN/LONDON (Reuters) – The re-routing of a growing number of ships around Africa to avoid potential attacks in the Red Sea is altering refueling patterns and boosting demand for bunker fuel at far-flung ports, from the Mauritius to South Africa to the Canary Islands. Ships are …

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Kenya wins $941 million IMF loan boost, easing financial pressures

By Kanjyik Ghosh (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday approved a $941 million lending boost to Kenya, with an immediate disbursement of $624.5 million, offering some relief to the East African country as it battles financial pressures. The disbursement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programs will …

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Oil near flat as extreme cold’s hit to U.S. output offsets China data

By Stephanie Kelly NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices were near flat on Wednesday as severe cold that disrupted some U.S. oil production offset disappointing economic growth in China that stoked worries about energy demand. Brent crude futures settled down 41 cents to $77.88 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) gained 16 cents …

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Wall St ends lower, Treasury yields gain as strong data cools rate-cut hopes

By Stephen Culp NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. stocks followed their European counterparts to a lower close on Wednesday and U.S. Treasury yields resumed their uphill climb as robust economic data chilled bets that the Federal Reserve could begin reducing its policy rate as early as March. All three major U.S. indexes finished the session lower, …

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US Treasury official discusses cholera outbreak, debt with Zambia minister

By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department’s top international official spoke with Zambia’s finance minister on Wednesday and discussed Zambia’s ongoing debt restructuring and its response to a recent cholera outbreak, the U.S. Treasury Department said. Zambia faces a major cholera outbreak that has killed at least 333 people since October, with …

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Dollar hits new one-month high as data weighs on rate cut hopes

By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) -The dollar index hit a fresh one-month high on Wednesday after U.S. retail sales data signaled economic strength, dimming expectations for imminent rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Retail sales rose 0.6% last month after an unrevised 0.3% gain in November, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said. Economists polled …

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Nigeria central bank clears 14 banks’ FX backlog, turns to airlines

By Camillus Eboh ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s central bank has cleared the entire foreign exchange forwards liability of 14 banks, an official said on Wednesday, adding that settlements with foreign airlines have now begun. Africa’s biggest economy has about $7 billion in forex forwards that have matured, a major concern for investors as foreign currency …

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Sierra Leone allows ex-president Koroma to leave country on medical grounds

FREETOWN (Reuters) -A Sierra Leone high court on Wednesday allowed ex-president Ernest Bai Koroma, charged this month with treason, to travel abroad on medical grounds. Koroma, 70, was charged with four offences for his alleged role in a failed military attempt to topple the West African country’s government in November. There are concerns Koroma’s indictment …

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