INTEREST RATES
Central banks shift course as turmoil shakes Africa
Central banks in Africa — poised to reveal their first response to the emerging-market turmoil of the past month — are likely to usher in an end to the continent’s easing cycle. There is a week to go before the US Federal Reserve delivers what could be its third interest-rate increase of the year. Currency weakness from the wider market sell-off preceding that move and a pick-up in inflation may persuade officials to freeze borrowing costs. Central bankers in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya are likely to keep key rates unchanged at their meetings next week. On Thursday, SA officials are seen by some economists as open to a potential hike. Russia raised its key rate by 25 basis points, while Turkish regulators increased the rate by 625 basis points. "We are slowly seeing the effects of … emerging-market events in the rest of Africa," Celeste Fauconnier, an analyst at Rand Merchant Bank, said.
"It’s safe to say the cutting trend in most of Africa is over," she said. "We’re unlikely to ...
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