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Nigeria posts $6.83 billion payments surplus amid reforms, rising confidence
The Central Bank of Nigeria announced on Monday that Nigeria had a surplus of 6.83 billion dollars in its balance of payments in 2024. This was due to the impact of the reforms, improved trade performance, and renewed investor faith in the economy. Bola Tinubu, who took office in 2023 and has been president since then, has cut back on expensive petrol and electricity subsidies. He also devalued twice the naira to increase Nigeria's decade long sluggish production. Tinubu is currently focusing on the overhaul of the state oil company and tax system in order to increase revenue and efficiency. CBN released a statement comparing the surplus in balance of payments to deficits in 2023 of $3.34bn and in 2022 of $3.32bn. Nigeria's capital and current accounts showed a surplus in 2024 of $17.22bn, mainly due to a surplus on goods trade of $13.17bn. CBN reported that remittances were a major support to the economy, with a rise of 8.9% last year to $20.93billion. CBN reported that gas exports increased 48.3%, to $8.66billion. Non-oil exports also grew 24.6%, to $7.46billion. Fuel imports dropped by 23.2%, to $14.06billion. Non-oil imports were also down 12.6% at $25.74billion during the same time period. Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank said: "The positive turnaround is evidence of our effective policy implementation and unwavering commitment towards macroeconomic stability." Nigeria's account revealed a net asset acquisition of $12.12billion, largely due to a boom in portfolio investments, which increased by more than twice as much, reaching $13.35billion. This was offset slightly by a drop in foreign direct investments, which dropped by 42.3% and reached $1.08 billion. CBN: Nigeria's reserves of foreign currency will increase by $6 billion, to $40.19 Billion by 2024. Reporting by Elisha Gbogbo, Camillus Eboh and Alison Williams; Editing by Franklin Paul, Alex Richardson and Alison Williams
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US Energy Secretary to Discuss Security During UAE Visit
The UAE's state news agency reported that United States Energy Sec. Chris Wright will discuss the topic of global energy security during his visit to the United Arab Emirates. Wright will also discuss previous investment plans announced by the Gulf Country into the United States. Reports on Monday stated that Wright will be completing a tour of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE for nearly two weeks to prepare the groundwork for a future visit by U.S. president Donald Trump. The energy issue is a crucial one following a plunge in oil prices, which has reached their lowest level in over four years. This was triggered by Trump’s tariffs announcement last week. It was further exacerbated by a sudden decision made by OPEC+ producers to increase output. Wright will meet with the UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei, and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Group CEO Sultan Al Jaber who is also the minister of Industry and Advanced Technology. The energy secretary will also meet with executives of Emirati companies, including the artificial intelligence investor MGX and nuclear energy firm ENEC, as well as sovereign wealth funds Mubadala, ADQ, and Mubadala. Reporting by Yousef SABA and Jana Choukeir Editing and Barbara Lewis by David Good and Barbara Lewis
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On Tuesday, the EU will begin retaliating for U.S. tariffs
The European Union's members decided on Wednesday to launch their first countermeasures in response to the tariffs imposed by U.S. president Donald Trump. They will join China and Canada, who have already retaliated and escalated a global conflict. The approval was given on the same day as Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" on the EU, and dozens of other countries, including massive 104% tariffs on China. This extended his tariff assault and encouraged more widespread sales across the financial markets. Trump's plan to target countries that he claims impose high barriers against U.S. imports includes tariffs of 25% on steel, aluminium and automobiles as well as a new tariff of 20% for nearly all other goods. In response to the U.S. tariffs on metals, the European Union will impose duties of up to 25% on an array of U.S. imported products starting next Tuesday. The bloc has not yet decided how it will respond to the levies on cars and other goods. According to a document seen, the U.S. imports are maize, wheat barley rice, motorbikes, poultry, fruits, wood, clothing, and dental floss. The total was about 23 billion euros (21 billion euros) last year. This means that the EU will retaliate against goods of less value than the 26 billion euro EU metals exported to the U.S. The regulations will be implemented in phases - April 15, May 16, and the final phase on almonds and soybeans on December 1. The European Commission stated that "these countermeasures could be suspended at any moment, if the US agreed to a fair, balanced and negotiated result." On Wednesday afternoon, a committee of 27 trade experts from across the EU voted on the proposal. EU diplomats reported that 26 EU countries voted for the proposal, while only Hungary voted against. The vote result was expected, as the Commission had already canvassed EU member states and refined a preliminary list since mid-March. This initial list removed U.S. dairy products and alcoholic beverages. France and Italy, two major wine exporters, expressed their concern when Trump threatened to slap a tariff of 200% on EU wine and spirits if the EU imposed its 50% duty on Bourbon. Trump has already responded, almost doubling the duties on Chinese imports. China responded by imposing 84% tariffs starting Thursday on U.S. products.
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Investors have few places to hide amid tariff turmoil
Fear of the impact of President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on the U.S. economy has caused investors to dump assets in America that they normally favour during times of crisis. Dollar and U.S. Treasuries took a hit as Trump's tariffs plus a duty of 104% on China went into effect. China quickly retaliated. Gold and the Swiss Franc, which are considered safe havens, continue to attract cash. Investors are worried about the rapid rise of U.S. Treasury rates. They fear that this could lead to forced sales in order to cover portfolio losses, and a rush for cash. This brings back memories of COVID-19's market turmoil. This is how the traditional safe-havens have done so far in the midst of tariff turmoil: The 1/ DOLLAR takes the backseat After Trump announced tariffs the dollar dropped with stock markets. This unusual move raised questions about the global status of the U.S. dollar, which is often called "King Dollar" because of its strength and dominance on global currency markets. The dollar is down more than 5% against a basket other currencies this year after the weakest start of a year in 2016 according to LSEG data. Investors are worried that the dollar has not benefited from higher U.S. Treasury rates. Until now, higher Treasuries had been more attractive than other bond markets. Michael Metcalfe, State Street Global Markets head of macro strategy, said: "The dollar's lack of support from higher yields indicates that the dollar isn't a safe haven currency." 2/ BOND ROUT Investors initially rushed to government bonds due to recession fears, but this has changed quickly. The 10-year Treasury yields in the United States have risen more than 40 basis point this week after falling 26 basis points last weekend. Bonds with longer maturities are worst affected, as 30-year yields have risen by nearly 50 basis points, their largest weekly increase since the 1980s. Bond yields increase when bond prices drop. The index of Treasury Volatility has reached its highest level since late 2023. The yields of Treasuries have risen even though traders are pricing in more rapid rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve. This suggests that Treasuries were deliberately dumped rather than sold because economic expectations had changed. The widening difference between Treasury yields, and derivatives such as interest rate swaps that are used to hedge, reflects this. Michael Brown, senior strategist at Pepperstone, said this showed a lack of interest in holding Treasury bonds. It remains to be determined whether this represents participants selling down Treasuries in order to raise cash to meet their liquid needs or an indication of how the institutional confidence in America has continued to erode. Investors believe that the unwinding a widely-used hedge fund arbitrage strategy, referred to as the basis trade between cash and Treasury futures positions, has also contributed to the market movements. The bond market is in pain. The bond market pain is spreading. 3/ GOLDEN ERA Gold is a traditional safe-haven investment. Gold tends to increase in times of financial or political crises. Gold prices rose during the 1970s energy crises, the 1980 U.S. economic recession, the 2008 financial crisis worldwide and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Gold has almost doubled over the last two-and-a half years. The gold market was affected by the recent selling, as investors sought to fill losses elsewhere. Gold was up by more than 2% Wednesday and only a few cents below its all-time high of $3,167. Investors and central banks who bought gold to hedge against inflation after the COVID epidemic have continued to do so even as inflation has eased. With Trump's isolationist policies, investors are more inclined to buy gold in order to protect their wealth. Back in Favor When stocks fall, the yen usually performs well. The Swiss franc has also strengthened, despite the yen's strength. DEFENSIVE PLAYS In recessions and financial crisis, stocks are often at the forefront. Investors pull their money out of the market and run to shelter. Most investors cannot give up the stock market, so they buy stocks that have recession-proof earnings. These include drugmakers, utilities, and food and beverage companies. Over the past 25 years, defensive stocks, which are closely tied to the global economy such as technology and mining stocks, have consistently outperformed their cyclical counterparts. Even though there are no signs of recession yet, a basket consisting of defensive global stocks has declined less than a basket comprising cyclicals since Trump's election victory in November, reflecting the caution of investors.
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James Wood and the Nats aim for a three-game sweep against Dodgers
James Wood will lead the Washington Nationals in an unlikely three-game sweep against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the World Series champions. Wood's two homers and five RBIs helped the Nationals defeat the Dodgers by 8-2 on Wednesday night, their fourth consecutive win after losing six of seven games to start the season. Wood stated, "I think it proves that we're not really far." Even when we lost games, we were not far off. "I think that it proves how well we can put together these games." Wood has played a major role in this effort. He also singled on Tuesday and drew an automatic bases-loaded walking to raise his batting average from.275 to.275. In the 6-4 Washington victory on Monday, he was 1-for-3, with a stolen-base, walk and two-run homer. Nationals manager Dave Martinez stated that "he's completely engaged when it comes hitting." Every time he bats, he has a strategy. He knows the strike zone. "And he keeps getting better." After starting the season with a perfect 8-0 record, the Dodgers have now lost four straight games. Los Angeles scored runs Tuesday thanks to Andy Pages and Kike Hernández. The Dodgers' batting average dropped to.230 with eight hits and fifteen strikeouts. Manager Dave Roberts stated that "we're not having any team at-bats." The results are showing. Justin Wrobleski, who was called up to Triple-A to fill in for Blake Snell while he was injured, gave up eight runs over five innings. He took the loss. Snell, who has been suffering from shoulder discomfort and joined the group of injured pitchers in the Dodgers' team, is expected to begin throwing next week. Los Angeles will call up Landon Knack, a right-handed pitcher (1-0, 0.00 ERA), to fill in for a starter. Knack pitched 2 innings of scoreless relief during his team's win against the Chicago Cubs. "I don’t think anyone expected us not to be hurt this year, whether we were starting or out of the pen. Roberts told Los Angeles Times that this is where we are. "But I think we knew we had many viable options for backfill." Keibert Ruiz had two hits for Washington, as did Jacob Young and Dylan Crews. Ruiz's two-out single with two runs put the Nationals 5-0 up in the second. Washington's Jake Irvin will start his third game of the season in the final. He allowed four runs and seven hits over five innings in his last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, which resulted in a loss of 6-4 on Friday. He had baserunners every inning except the second. Irvin's 10 innings of this season have seen him allow six runs including three home runs. After his last appearance, he stated that he needed to be "a lot more intelligent and better" in certain situations. "The offense scored three goals in the first. After that, it's my responsibility to shut everything down. Didn't do it." Irvin has a career record of 1-2 and a 4.57 ERA against the Dodgers. Field Level Media
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US assets are battered by trade war as'sell America trade' is intensified
The latest trade war escalation between the United States of America and China has shook the global markets on Wednesday. Investors have dumped bonds, stocks and the dollar. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump's 104% tariffs against China went into effect. Beijing responded with 84% duties on U.S. imported goods. According to George Saravelos, head of Deutsche Bank's foreign exchange research, the seemingly wholesale withdrawal of Treasuries from the market and the dollar as the "backbone" of the global financial systems could be indicative of a general decline in investor interest in holding U.S. assets and the end of an era. We are seeing a simultaneous fall in the value of all U.S. assets, including stocks, dollar against alternative reserve FXs and the bond markets. He said that we are entering uncharted waters in the global financial systems. The markets have been roiled by a crisis of unprecedented volatility this week, with stocks losing trillions in value and commodities and emerging market markets being hit hard. Many fear that Trump's tariffs are so severe they will trigger a recession, forcing the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. So, many sold their Treasury holdings and drove up yields when bond prices fell. Investors rushed to gold and Swiss francs, which accelerated the flight away from industrial commodities and stocks. The benchmark 10-year U.S. note yield rose almost 20 basis points in one day to 4.456%. This brings its increase over the past three days up to 40 bps. It is the fastest rise in 25 years. Chris Beauchamp is the chief strategist of IG. He said: "Last weekend was a story about equity, but as always, we've moved on to the bond story, which is more important." This is the financial plumbing, and the plumbing has clearly begun to seize-up. The auction of 10-year notes, which followed a disappointing three-year note sale the previous day, could add to the pressure. It would be a litmus test for investor appetite towards U.S. Government debt. The ING economists said that "this seemingly'sell America trade' is now dominating the theme of rising recession risks that would normally have pushed yields downward." COSTLY "GAME OF CHICKEN" Financial markets have been shook by the volatility caused by the shifting headlines about tariffs, and the threat of a long-term trade war between two of the world's largest economies. S&P 500 index experienced one of the largest reversals since at least 50 years. The benchmark index lost 4.2 percentage points on Tuesday, from a positive beginning to a negative end. The S&P 500 index has lost $5.8 billion in stock market values, which is the largest four-day decline since the index was founded in the 1950s. This week, the VIX index (a measure of stock volatility) reached its highest level since August. The STOXX 600 in Europe fell by nearly 4.5%. This brings the total loss of market capitalisation from April 1, the day Trump announced his tariffs, to $1.5 trillion. U.S. Stock Futures are down nearly 2%. Analysts at JPMorgan thought that the rapid escalation of U.S. Tariffs against China would be disruptive enough to send the global economy into a recession. In a client note, they stated that "given the import bill from China the China tariff is equivalent to a whopping tax hike of $400 billion on U.S. businesses and households." The currency will likely be used as a release valve by China's policymakers. The dollar fell 1.3% to 145.45 Japanese yen, and 0.8% to 0.84 Swiss Francs. Oil prices fell 6%, to less than $60 per barrel. Concerns over the future of global energy demand overshadowed any geopolitical concerns. Gold prices rose 3%, to $3,070 per ounce.
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Ukraine's steel production has risen by 2.7% in 2025 so far, according to the producers union
The Ukrainian Steel Producers' Union reported on Wednesday that the steel production in Ukraine has continued to grow in the first quarter of 2025, despite the loss in eastern Ukraine of Pokrovsk's coking coal mine. Metinvest, the Ukrainian steelmaker, has suspended operations in Ukraine's sole coking coal mine. The company cited a deteriorating situation due to Russian advances. Data showed that the raw steel production rose 2.7% between January and March 2025, to 1,73 million metric tonnes. Since the Russian invasion of February 24, 2022 leading steel mills have been destroyed. Ukraine, once a major exporter and producer of steel, reported a 70.7% decline in production in 2022, to 6.3 millions tons. The output dropped to 6 million tonnes in 2023, but increased to 7,58 million tons in 2020. The producers have stated that they would like to be able to get coking coal from another mine in Ukraine if the mine is taken over by Russian troops. However, imports will be necessary, which will increase costs. Metinvest announced this week that it received the first shipment of U.S. coal to compensate for the suspension in production at the Pokrovsk Mine. Metinvest's United Coal Company in the United States delivered 80,000 metric tonnes of coal. The company said that it would receive one vessel per month. (Reporting and editing by Louise Heavens, with Pavel Polityuk)
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Tin production resumes at major mine in Congo after two-month slump
The price of tin fell to a two-month low on Wednesday, after Alphamin Resources Corp announced that it would resume operations in phases at its Bisie Mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Alphamin stopped operations at Bisie a month ago. The plant produces about 6% global tin supply a year. This was as M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, advanced in the area and took over the strategic town Walikale. In a Wednesday statement, Alphamin said that the insurgents had now withdrawn to Walikale. This is more than 130km (80miles) east of the mine. The price of soldering material on the London Metal Exchange fell 8.3%, to $29 910 per metric ton, by 1121 GMT. It had previously fallen to $29 705, its lowest level since February 3. Four sources who were briefed about the negotiations said that the fate of the Bisie Mine in eastern Congo, which is a war-torn region, was discussed during Donald Trump's top Africa adviser's recent trip to Kinshasa. Alphamin said it will redeploy its employees to the mine site, while continuing to monitor security conditions. The company added that the tin concentrator export logistics has continued uninterrupted. Alphamin reported that between January 1 and 8 April, the company exported 4,500 tons of contained Tin with 280 tonnes still in transit. Alphamin's total contained tin output was 4,270 tonnes in the first quarter, up until the mine suspension on March 13th. Alphamin produced over 17,000 tonnes of metal used in semiconductors last. (Reporting and editing by Ros Russell; Polina Devtt)
Sri Lankan shares end higher as financials gain; March inflation relieves
Sri Lankan shares ended greater on Monday, helped by gains in financials and customer staples stocks.
* The CSE All-Share index settled 0.64% higher at 11,828.22.
* The island nation's consumer cost inflation dropped to 2.5% in March from 5.1% in February, main information showed on Monday, as the impact of a higher sales tax needed to satisfy targets set under a $2.9-billion IMF programme receded.
* LOLC Finance PLC and LOLC Holdings PLC. were the top gainers on the CSE All Share, rising. 12.5% and 2.1%, respectively.
* Trading volume on the CSE All-Share index rose to 114. million shares from 112.9 million in the previous session.
* The equity market's turnover was up to 1.30 billion Sri. Lankan rupees ($ 4.3 million) from 1.48 billion rupees in the. previous session, according to exchange information.
* Foreign financiers were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth. 70 million rupees, while domestic financiers were net sellers,. offloading shares worth 1.28 billion rupees, the data showed.
* For a report on global markets, click.
(source: Reuters)