Emerging Markets Update: Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa in focus

Kenya The Kenyan Shilling is the latest frontier currency to nose-dive against the US dollar, following a circular issued by the central bank stating its intention to buy $100 million per month between March and June 2020 to shore up their reserves | KES has continued to fall, touching a 4-month low of 102.95 this morning | Every single African currency is down this year, apart from the Ghanian Cedi

Nigeria The collapse in oil prices, exacerbated by the Coronavirus outbreak, has adversely affected oil-and-gas-dependent nations such as Nigeria and Mozambique, with both economies suffering as a result | Nigeria’s finance minister warned that the country may have to adjust its budget because of falling government revenues | The Naira has also been under pressure, with the exchange rate going as high as 366 vs the dollar in the past two weeks

South Africa The South African Reserve Bank sees no need for an emergency meeting on interest rates and will instead wait for its regular gathering on 19 March for a policy decision | The rand has continued its slide this morning, down 0.64% against the dollar on the day and approaching a 10% fall for the year, as investors continue their risk-on bias and funds flow to safe-haven assets such as the yen, the Swiss Franc and gold

To discuss how the above may affect your money transfer requirements, please contact your Currency Dealer at Heritage Pay on +44 (0) 207 117 2934.

None of the information in this article is, nor should be construed as financial advice. All foreign exchange transactions involve risk and you should always seek your own independent financial advice before entering into any foreign exchange transaction.