{"id":28731,"date":"2026-03-13T19:15:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=28731"},"modified":"2026-03-13T19:15:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:15:12","slug":"africa-policymakers-warn-iran-oil-shock-will-hit-key-sectors-halt-monetary-easing","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/africa-policymakers-warn-iran-oil-shock-will-hit-key-sectors-halt-monetary-easing\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa policymakers warn Iran oil shock will hit key sectors, halt monetary easing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Central banks \u200cfrom Accra to Luanda have been cutting lending rates in recent months on the back of falling inflation and stable foreign exchange rates, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">and<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to spur their economies.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> That might be over, for now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;Periods of heightened uncertainty have become a defining feature of the global economic landscape, challenging central banks worldwide in unprecedented ways,&#8221; Uganda&#8217;s central bank told <\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Reuters<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The bank, the only major one in the \u200bregion that had adopted a cautious stance even before the war broke out, said it will reassess its tools and processes to ensure their \u200beffectiveness in the challenging environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Angola&#8217;s central bank held rates on Thursday after three straight cuts, with Governor Manuel Tiago Dias citing growing \u2060risks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;These risks stem mainly from a possible prolongation of the war currently being waged in the Middle East, which could affect distribution chains, particularly agricultural inputs and fertiliser,&#8221; \u200bhe said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Other major central banks will have to reassess, analysts said, with Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia and Kenya expected to halt their easing cycles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;Central bankers are going to have \u200bto look at potential pass-through,&#8221; said Razia Khan, Chief Economist for Middle East and Africa at Standard Chartered, referring to second-round effects of higher oil prices on inflation and other measures.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">JPMorgan scaled back its forecasts for rate cuts in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Zambia, citing the crisis. &#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">With the exception of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Angola, we have reduced the quantum of rate cuts initially pencilled,&#8221; it said in \u200ba research note.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Brent futures traded at just under $100 per barrel on Friday, having peaked near $120 earlier in the week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;If oil averages $100 for a year, we will see \u200bforeign exchange reserves decline across most of the continent, and many currencies weaken by 5%,&#8221; said Charlie Robertson, Head of Macro Strategy at FIM Partners. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Central banks in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and \u200cZambia did \u2060not respond to requests for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8211;Reuters&#8211;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":28732,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-28731","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"African officials have warned that the sharp rise in oil prices due to the conflict in \u200bIran will challenge monetary policymaking and could hit productivity in key sectors like mining, putting the continent's ongoing economic recovery in peril.","published_date":"","news_description":"African officials have warned that the sharp rise in oil prices due to the conflict in \u200bIran will challenge monetary policymaking and could hit productivity in key sectors like mining, putting the continent's ongoing economic recovery in peril.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28733,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28731\/revisions\/28733"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=28731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}