POWELLS TESTIMONY EFFECTS: United Stated Congress on 10 July listened to its Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony on economic outlook and policy were he signaled that an interest rate cut is imminent despite the strong Jobs figure in June were payrolls came in better than expected at 224,000 above analysts’ expectations. The US Fed has over the last few months adopted a patient approach to monetary policy as it observed economic data in light of global macro backdrop. During that period markets saw the case for a rate cut strengthen through overall weaker global growth, waning manufacturing and industrial productivity…
Author: The Editor
Fifty Kwacha notes.
A telecommunications mast in Abuja.
EURO BONDS: Yields on Zambia’s dollar bonds were 13 basis points (bps) wider, 5 basis points (bps) higher than the Sub-Saharan Africa Euro bond average of 8 bps. Fueling this widening in credit default spreads was dampened demand for riskier assets as the US jobs report printed higher figures beating analysts’ expectations of 160,000 versus the actual 224,000. This bullish jobs readings dented market expectations of a rate cut as the US Fed meets this July which impacted dollar denominated assets. PRIVATE SECTOR PULSE: Zambia’s June Purchasing Managers Index – PMI readings were slightly better at 46.6 from 43.9 in…
There is need to understand ‘internal and external’ threat landscape Barely a fortnight after the biggest cash heist in the Zambian financial markets this year involving a Barclays Bank vault custodian that fled with cash in excess of $400,000, another bank the Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZNCB) has been hit with both a cyber incident (involving card cloning on its Xapit product) and a mini cash heist involving its staff fleeing with K59,000 drawn on a clients savings account. This is not the first time the latter bank is experiencing cyber hacking this year, the first being after its internet…
EUROBONDS PERFORMANCE: Zambia’s dollar bonds continue to be elevated to levels of 16.8% – 17.9% for its 2022 to 2027’s as local currency fixed income yields pay highs of 27.5% to 30.5% in the primaries. The market has seen off – shore swap yields come off in the last month. Our analysis is more biased towards subdued divestment in the near term. CURRENCY STRENGTHENING: Currency short term trading range for the Kwacha remains 12.65-13.15 for a unit of dollar, while the wider medium term range is set at K12.45 – K13.45. A key level to breaking the downside is 12.85…
Gourock Plastics manufacturing plant in Ndola on the Copperbelt province of Zambia.
A man holding ngwee’s in his palm in the capital Lusaka.
Trade plays a key part in global growth and exchange of resources. However this concept remains a challenge on the world’s fastest growing continent, Africa, evidenced by the large trade imbalances through deficits and surpluses recorded year in and year out. Regional economic groupings such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) to mention but a few, have relentlessly tried to foster trade but with minimal fruition. Trade is what drives global growth pulse, markets and determines currency trading as observed between United States…
Trade plays a key part in global growth and exchange of resources. However this concept remains a challenge on the world’s fastest growing continent, Africa, evidenced by the large trade imbalances through deficits and surpluses recorded year in and year out. Regional economic groupings such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) to mention but a few, have relentlessly tried to foster trade but with minimal fruition. Trade is what drives global growth pulse, markets and determines currency trading as observed between United States…