Africa

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the President of Nigeria has asked Parliament to approve a 43.56 trillion Naira (US$29.96 billion), spending plan that repeals and reenacts 2024's budget to?run until December 2025. The goal is to eliminate fiscal cycles that overlapped in recent years and tighten control on public finances. This move comes after months of criticism from lawmakers about the government's reliance upon?rolling forward capital budgets. As a result, the 2024 capital spending was extended to June 2025 and then December 2025. After years of budget mismanagement, the 'proposal' aims to restore discipline and accountability in Africa’s most populous nation. The...

Ammu Kanampilly NAIROBI (Dec. 11) - On Thursday, the United States threatened to reduce their foreign aid to South Sudan unless Juba lifted what they said were illegal?fees? on humanitarian shipments. In a remarkably pointed statement entitled "Time to Stop Taking ADVANTAGE of the United States," U.S. Bureau of African Affairs alleged that South Sudan's Government "imposed exorbitant charges on humanitarian shipments", and "obstructed U.N. Peacekeeping Operations". South Sudan's Minister of Humanitarian Affairs did not respond immediately to a comment request. The U.S. is the biggest humanitarian donor in South Sudan. This year, it has made rapid and 'deep' cuts...

The Ghanaian economy grew by 5.5% a year on an annual basis?in 2025's third quarter, according to the Statistics Agency. This was mainly due to?improvements in the agriculture and services sectors, it said. Alhassan Iddrisu, a government statistician, told reporters that growth was down from 7.0%, which had been revised, in the same time period of last year. The industrial sector, however, only grew by 0.8%. Iddrisu stated that fishing?and crop production boosted the growth of the agricultural sector to 8.6%. He added that the services sector, which includes finance, insurance and trade, as well as education, grew by 7.6%....

The Senate of Nigeria approved President Bola Tinubu’s deployment of troops to Benin Republic on Tuesday after Benin’s government asked for assistance from its larger neighbour on Sunday. Tinubu wrote to legislators that Benin had requested "exceptional and urgent air support" from Nigerian armed forces following a report of an "attempted unconstitutional seizure and disruption of democratic institution." According to Nigerian law?the president is required to seek Senate approval before deploying troops into a foreign country. Benin's Government said on Monday that Nigerian fighter jets carried out airstrikes in order to?thwart an attempted coup by mutinying troops who tried to...

The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, announced on Monday that they had taken over the strategic Heglig Oilfield in South Kordofan Province. Heglig is the largest processing plant for South Sudanese crude oil. This makes up a large part of the government's revenue. Sources from the government said that the workers and the government forces at Heglig oilfield retreated on Sunday in order to avoid any clashes which could have damaged oil facilities. Sources at the Heglig Oil Field said that oil workers and the army had left the oil field for South Sudan. The Greater Nile Pipeline...

The companies announced on Friday that Gecamines, Congo's state-owned miner, is working with Swiss commodities group Mercuria in order to increase transparency and revenue for the world's largest cobalt producer. The Democratic Republic of Congo is also a major supplier of copper. It has undertaken reforms to gain more control over the mining output of its country and increase its global influence. In October, it introduced a cobalt export quota to reduce oversupply. Last month, the country launched its first batch traceable artisanal copper. Gecamines, based on the memorandum it signed earlier this summer, will have direct control over its...

Nigeria's oil-and-gas content regulator announced on Tuesday a $100 million equity scheme to increase indigenous participation in energy sector. It also said that it will tighten the compliance rules starting next year. Felix Ogbe (executive secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB) told the Practical Nigerian Content Forum at the Bank of Industry that the fund would be launched in partnership to provide equity financing for high-growth local energy services firms. Ogbe stated that the board would also introduce, from January 1, 2026 onwards, a certificate of compliance, which will confirm companies' compliance with a mandatory 1%...

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman stated on Monday that a new mechanism adopted by OPEC+ for assessing members' maximum production capacity will help stabilize markets and reward those investing in production. OPEC announced on Sunday that the OPEC+ group has approved a mechanism for assessing members' maximum production capacities to be used to set baselines starting in 2027 against which output targets will be set. Prince Abdulaziz claimed that the production level determination mechanism was "fair" and "transparent". He said, "Now, we have the most detailed and transparent approach to managing the market in the future, as well...

Two delegates and a source with knowledge of OPEC+ meetings said that OPEC+ will likely leave oil production levels unchanged during its Sunday meeting and agree on a method to measure members' maximum capacity to produce. Two delegates stated that the eight OPEC+ nations who have gradually increased output in 2025 will keep their policy of halting hikes in the 1st quarter of 2026. OPEC+, a grouping of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, led by Russia and pumping about half the oil in the world, has been discussing production capacity figures for years, against...

Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the President of Guinea-Bissau, struck a confident tone when he launched his reelection campaign in early November. He claimed that "stability" had been achieved since he assumed office in 2020. Embalo told journalists that he was deposed ahead of the results to be announced Thursday. Army officers announced on Wednesday that they had been deposed on state television. seized power In the country prone to coups. The unrest is consistent with Embalo’s turbulent tenure, during which his government attempted three coups. Critics claim that, as long as the political instability continued, Embalo failed to control the notorious...

Honeywell has been contracted by Nigerian oil refinery Dangote to help double the capacity of its refinery to 1.4million barrels per day in 2028. This is the clearest sign yet that the company's plans to become the largest refinery in the world are taking shape. Honeywell's equipment and catalysts will help Dangote process a wider range of crude grades, which is needed to support their planned expansion of output. Dangote also plans to license Honeywell's Oleflex Technology to increase its polypropylene production - a material used in plastic containers and auto parts. The financial terms of the agreement were not...

The downstream regulator announced on Thursday that Nigeria had abandoned plans to impose an import duty of 15% on petrol and diesel, after assurances were given about adequate supplies during the holidays. A leaked memo revealed the tariff approved by Bola Tinubu in fiscal reforms to increase non-oil revenue. The tariff was to go into effect in December. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority said that the implementation of the 15% ad valorem duty on imported premium motor spirits and diesel was no longer in sight. Fuel marketers had lobbied against the measure, warning it could restrict imports...

Three industry sources have confirmed that gold mining companies in the Ivory Coast are now paying an 8% royalty backdated to January after months of disputing its legality. The world's largest cocoa producer has replaced the previously linked 3%-6% contract rate with a flat 8%?rate. The miners refused to pay at first, claiming that it was illegal because their contracts protected them from fiscal changes. They then entered into negotiations with the government in order to get the new royalties scrapped. The three people who are familiar with the issue, but declined to be identified because they weren't authorised to...

Fortuna Mining's West Africa Operations Chief said that the company is looking for mid-tier gold assets and accelerating new projects as it works to achieve its 500,000 ounces annual production target, after selling mines located in Burkina Faso, Mexico, and?Burkina?Faso. Canadian miner sells Yaramoko mines in Burkina Faso, and San Jose operations in Mexico, cutting short-term, high-cost assets but also reducing production. It has made new deals including a joint-venture with DeSoto to explore in Guinea, and a larger stake in Awale Resources a West Africa focused?gold-explorer with operations on the Ivory Coast. This is in line with a global...

Ghana has banned mining within forest reserves, as part of an environmental protection program aimed at protecting water bodies and halting the deforestation. Africa's leading gold producer, which is also the world's largest, is fighting a "surge" in?poorly-regulated small-scale mining, which is destroying cacao farms, degrading rivers and forests, and increasing sustainability risks for its mining industry, sparking protests. Industrial miners have reported frequent incursions of illegal operators on concessions. This has forced key operators such as Gold Fields AngloGold Ashanti Newmont and Asante Gold, to increase their investments in surveillance drones, security systems, and community engagement programmes. According to...

Iron ore prices continued to fall on Tuesday as the Simandou project, located in Guinea in west Africa,?shipped out its first ore. This increased prospects for more supply, at a time when China, the top consumer, is expected to see a decline in demand due?to falling steel production. The most traded iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was down 1.51% as of 0229 GMT. Its lowest price since July 10, and headed for its fifth straight session of losses. As of 0219 GMT the benchmark January iron ore price on the Singapore Exchange fell for a third session...

The United States Development lender announced on Friday plans to take a stake to market Congo minerals, which could give U.S. users of copper and cobalt the right to first refusal. The U.S. and China are in a heated competition to gain access to minerals that are crucial to the manufacture of everything from cars to iPhones. Congo has 72% of the world's cobalt reserves, and supplies 74% of that amount. Many of these mines are artisanal. The plans for investment were revealed a day after U.S. president Donald Trump hosted leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo...

Fighting broke out in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Friday, just a day after U.S. president Donald Trump met with Congolese leaders and Rwandans in Washington for the signing of new agreements aimed at ending decades of conflict in this mineral-rich region. On Thursday, Congo's Felix Tshisekedi reaffirmed his commitment to the U.S.-brokered agreement reached in June. The deal aims to stabilize the vast country by allowing more Western mining investments. "We are settling a long-running war," said Trump. His administration intervened in many conflicts around the globe to burnish Trump's credentials as a world peacemaker, and advance U.S....

Ivanhoe Mines said that its recovery plan is progressing and it expects the copper production at its Kamoa/Kakula complex to reach between 380,000-420,000 tons of copper in 2026, and 500,000-540,000 tonnes in 2027. It will update its life-of-mine plans towards the end the first quarter next year. In its report on production guidance, Ivanhoe said that copper sales are expected to exceed output in 2026 as it clears 20,000 tons concentrate stock once its new smelter, Africa's biggest, starts up in December and shifts production to copper anodes. Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe's co-chairman, said that the company was "on the brink...

Barrick Mining announced on Monday that it is exploring the possibility of an initial public offering for a subsidiary which would hold its North American assets in gold amid a record rise in gold prices. The U.S. listed shares of the Canadian mining company rose by nearly 4% during premarket trading. Barrick would be reversing its 2019 merger with Randgold Resources. Investors are also pressing the miner to take advantage of the historic rise in gold prices in order to boost profits, while selling off riskier assets such as those in Africa, Papa New Guinea, and Pakistan's Reko Diq. The...

Bitcoin dropped below $90,000. This was the steepest monthly drop since 2021's crypto crash. Investors were once again avoiding risk, and they pulled out of stocks, digital assets, and other digital assets. At one point, the world's biggest cryptocurrency dropped by up to 6.1%. By 0942 GMT it had fallen nearly 5% to $86,754, its largest one-day drop in a year and was hovering around last month's 8-month low of $71,553. Bitcoin lost more than $18,000 during November. This is its biggest dollar loss since the collapse of several cryptocurrencies in May 2021. RISK INDICATOR Bitcoin's relatively short life span...

Apple has denied the allegations, but a U.S. advocacy group filed a suit in Washington claiming that the iPhone maker uses minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo or Rwanda. International Rights Advocates, a group based in the United States, filed a lawsuit last year against Apple, Tesla and other tech companies for cobalt sourcing. However, U.S. court dismissed it. In December, French prosecutors dropped Congo's conflict mineral case against Apple subsidiaries citing a lack of evidence. An investigation is ongoing in Belgium into a criminal complaint related to this issue. Apple has denied any wrongdoing as a response to...

The UK stock market rose on Wednesday as financials and mining stocks gained, after Finance Minister Rachel Reeves unveiled a large tax-raising budget. The blue-chip FTSE 100 posted its best day for two weeks, closing 0.9% higher. The domestically-focused FTSE 250 rose 1.2%. It was its best day for more than a week. Reeves' budget will increase the tax burden on workers, pensioners and investors in order to meet her borrowing target. Release First reported by The Office for Budget Responsibility reported that the remaining headroom in five years would be approximately 22 billion pounds (28,9 billion dollars). UK 30-year...

Apple has denied the allegations, but a U.S. advocacy group filed a suit in Washington. The lawsuit accuses Apple of using minerals that are linked to human rights violations and conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. International Rights Advocates, a group based in the United States, has sued Apple, Tesla and other tech companies over cobalt sourcing. However, U.S. court dismissed this case last year. In December, French prosecutors dropped Congo's conflict mineral case against Apple subsidiaries citing a lack of evidence. An investigation is ongoing in Belgium into a criminal complaint related to this issue....