{"id":3705,"date":"2023-01-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.azafinance.com\/2023\/01\/26\/senegal-reaches-for-double-digit-growth\/"},"modified":"2023-01-26T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T00:00:00","slug":"senegal-reaches-for-double-digit-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/senegal-reaches-for-double-digit-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Senegal Reaches For Double-digit Growth","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Senegal reaches for double-digit growth<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Senegal\u2019s economy is poised for 8% growth this year and 10.5% in 2024, according to the World Bank, partly due to the country benefitting from European efforts to diversify gas supplies away from Russia. Senegal is forecasted to increase gas output to 2.5m tonnes this year and as much as 10m tonnes by 2030. While risks remain amid weaker global growth, tighter financial conditions, and inflationary pressures, Senegal looks destined to be among this year\u2019s leaders for economic recovery while pursuing<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> longer-term structural reforms under the \u2018Emerging Senegal\u2019 development model. Its currency, the CFA Franc, is pegged to the Euro.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Naira slips as CBN hikes 100bps<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Naira weakened marginally against the dollar, trading at 752 from 749 at last week\u2019s close. Nigeria\u2019s central bank raised interest rates by 100 basis points to 17.5%, piling more pressure on small and medium-sized businesses already feeling the pinch from the struggling economy, the Naira note redesign, and a cap on over-the-counter withdrawals. While inflation slowed marginally in December to 21.34% from 21.47% a month earlier, the central bank said it remains resolved to mop up excess liquidity in the market and stem high inflation. With FX demand outweighing dollar supply, we expect the Naira to continue depreciating gradually in the coming weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-14246\" src=\"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Naira-Rate-January-2022-January-2023-3-300x140.png\" alt=\"Naira_Rate_January_2022_January_2023_png\" width=\"823\" height=\"384\" \/><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Ghana\u2019s local debt exchange deal supporting Cedi<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Cedi depreciated marginally against the dollar, trading at 12.34 from 12.21 at last week\u2019s close. The government and the Ghana Association of Banks said they reached an agreement on the terms of a debt exchange programme for domestic banks holding Ghana\u2019s local bonds. The government has agreed to pay a 5% coupon on its bonds maturing this year and 9% on all other restructured debt. The government had previously said it wouldn\u2019t pay any interest on its 2023 bonds. This week, Ghana suspended the Bulk Oil Distribution Companies\u2019 FX auction because the first batch of the gold-for-oil barter arrived. Despite the slight decline over the past week, we expect the debt deal for local banks to support the Cedi in the coming days.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-14247\" src=\"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Cedi-Rate-June-2022-January-2023-300x134.png\" alt=\"Cedi_Rate_January_2022_January_2023_png\" width=\"826\" height=\"369\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Eskom crisis outweighs weaker dollar impact on Rand<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Rand was marginally weaker against the greenback, trading at 17.20 from 17.11 at last Friday\u2019s close, as concerns about South Africa\u2019s energy crisis outweighed the effects of broader dollar weakness. This is causing traders to doubt otherwise bullish signals for the Rand, given expectations of ongoing dollar weakness, a China-led global economic recovery and a more aggressive policy tightening stance in South Africa compared to the US. Problems at state-owned utility Eskom and the severity of its rolling power cuts mean domestic issues are likely to continue outweighing any positive external factors in the near term. We expect the Rand will continue trading between 17 and 17.20 in the coming week, barring any significant change in global risk sentiment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-14248\" src=\"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Rand-Rate-January-2022-January-2023-3-300x114.png\" alt=\"Rand_Rate_January_2022_January_2023_png\" width=\"816\" height=\"310\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Egyptian Pound stabilises as import backlog eases<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">After recent declines, the Pound was stable against the dollar this week, trading at 29.86 compared to 29.84 at last week\u2019s close. Amid the weaker FX rate and five-year high inflation causing severe shortages of food staples, Egypt has now managed to clear almost half of the import backlog at its ports. This is partly due to increased FX availability and less stringent import regulations. About $5.3bn of goods were left uncleared in mid-January, down from $9.5bn in December. Economists are optimistic that Egypt\u2019s economy will grow 4.8% this year, according to a Reuters\u2019 poll, a faster pace than the government\u2019s 4% prediction. We expect the Pound to remain around the 30 level in the short-term, absent any external shocks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-14249\" src=\"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Egyptian-Pound-Rate-January-2022-January-2023-3-300x130.png\" alt=\"Egyptian_Pound_Rate_January_2022_January_2023_png\" width=\"831\" height=\"360\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Kenyan Shilling hits new dollar low<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Shilling declined to a fresh record low against the dollar, trading at 124.10\/124.30 from 124.00\/124.20 at last week\u2019s close, amid reduced liquidity in the interbank FX market and heightened dollar demand from importers\u2014notably for oil and manufacturing. The Institute of Public Finance said Kenya\u2019s economy will grow 5% this year, weighed down by higher commodity prices and the risk of debt distress. Investor wariness, adding to pressure on the Shilling, has not been helped by the new government\u2019s plan to triple capital gains tax to 15% from 5%. While supported by Kenya\u2019s FX reserves, which are adequate at just under $7.4bn, we expect the Shilling to remain under pressure over the coming week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-14250\" src=\"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Kenyan-Shilling-Rate-January-2022-January-2023-3-300x127.png\" alt=\"Kenyan_Shilling_Rate_January_2022_January_2022_png\" width=\"841\" height=\"356\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Debt levels crimp Uganda Shilling prospects<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Shilling weakened against the dollar, trading at 3689 from 3677 at last week\u2019s close. Uganda outlined details of its long-delayed commercial oil drilling programme, commissioning the first of four oil rigs. It also started drilling its first production well at the Kingfisher development near Lake Albert in western Uganda. The Kingfisher development is being operated by China\u2019s state-oil company China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). France\u2019s TotalEnergies are conducting another development project. Uganda hopes to be pumping oil by 2025 and expects to reach peak production of 230,000 barrels daily. Given the high levels of debt the country has taken on\u2014particularly from China\u2014we expect the Shilling to weaken soon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-14251\" src=\"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Ugandan-Shilling-Rate-January-2022-January-2023-3-300x123.png\" alt=\"Ugandan_Shilling_Rate_January_2022_January_2023_png\" width=\"841\" height=\"345\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Tanzanian Shilling lowest in almost four years<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Shilling depreciated to its lowest level in almost four years, trading at 2340 from 2336 at last week\u2019s close. According to the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, Foreign investors have sold TZS4bn worth of shares over the past three weeks. Equity analysts cited depressed share prices and a broader risk-off approach amid concerns about the global economy as reasons for the outflows. With Tanzania\u2019s central bank selling FX reserves, we expect the Shilling to continue weakening against the dollar in the week ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-14252\" src=\"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Tanzanian-Shilling-Rate-January-2022-January-2023-4-300x123.png\" alt=\"Tanzanian_Shilling_Rate_January_2022_January_2023_png\" width=\"824\" height=\"338\" \/><\/p>\n<h5>Sign Up\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/AZAWeeklyFX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Here<\/a>\u00a0To Receive Weekly FX Insights From Us!<\/h5>\n<p><em>Issued by AZA Finance, this Newsletter is produced as a service to our clients. It is prepared by our dealing professionals and is based on their understanding and interpretation of market events. AZA Finance cannot be held responsible for any losses of whatever nature sustained as a result of action taken based on comments contained in this publication.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senegal reaches for double-digit growth Senegal\u2019s economy is poised for 8% growth this year and 10.5% in 2024, according to the World Bank, partly due to the country benefitting from European efforts to diversify gas supplies away from Russia. Senegal is forecasted to increase gas output to 2.5m tonnes this year and as much as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[22,24,25,27,185,29,30,32,298,34,33,303,305],"class_list":["post-3705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fx-insights","tag-africa-foreign-exchange","tag-cfa-franc","tag-dollars","tag-egyptian-pound","tag-foreign-exchange","tag-fx","tag-fx-insights","tag-ghana-cedi","tag-kenyan-shilling-rate","tag-naira","tag-rand-rate","tag-tanzanian-shilling-rate","tag-ugandan-shilling-rate"],"acf":[],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3705\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azafinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}