South Sudan
Deadline for oil cuts extended
South Sudan was continuing to export oil this week, the country’s Petroleum Ministry said yesterday, after a cut-off deadline from Sudan was extended by two weeks. Sudan told South Sudan in June that it would block all exports through its pipelines starting in early August, accusing Juba of aiding rebels hostile to Khartoum. “All the oil wells in Unity and Upper Nile states are operating. As it stands, we are producing between 100 000 and 180 000 barrels a day,” Petroleum and Mining Ministry spokesman Nicodemus Ajak Bior said. “There is an extension until August 22.” The extension was arranged by negotiators from Ethiopia and the AU, who are eager to see the two nations resolve their differences without resorting to shutdowns that would hit both economies. – Sapa-dpa
Egypt
IMF loan ‘is key to recovery’
Egypt’s interim government considered a loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) an “essential” part of efforts to revive economic growth, Planning Minister Ashraf El-Arabi said yesterday. The timing of a resumption of talks on a $4.8 billion (R47.2bn) loan was still under discussion, El-Arabi said. The government was assessing Egypt’s financing needs based on the latest economic data. El-Arabi’s remarks came a day after Egypt’s government said it had been told by visiting US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns that the US supported a resumption of talks. Egypt’s negotiations with the IMF have been repeatedly disrupted since 2011. – Bloomberg
Uganda
Inflation risks ‘still on upside’
Uganda’s central bank held its benchmark lending rate at 11 percent for the second consecutive month yesterday, citing growing risks to inflation. Central bank governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile said policymakers expected annual core inflation and headline inflation to rise slightly over the next three to six months, driven by food price increases due to drought. “Risks to the inflation outlook remain on the upside,” Tumusiime-Mutebile said at a news conference in Kampala. “The growing inflationary pressures originate from domestic supply-side [issues], along with the prospects of increases in oil prices.” – Reuters