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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nNigeria and Egypt\u2019s fortunes have dimmed as they deal with high inflation and a plunge in their currencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bola Tinubu has announced significant policy reforms since he became Nigeria\u2019s president at the end of May 2023, including allowing the currency to float more freely, scrapping costly energy and gasoline subsidies and taking steps to address dollar shortages. Despite a recent rebound, the naira is still 50% weaker against the greenback than what it was prior to him taking office after two currency devaluations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Egypt, one of the emerging world\u2019s most-indebted countries and the IMF\u2019s second-biggest borrower after Argentina, has also allowed its currency to float, triggering an almost 40% plunge<\/a> in the pound\u2019s value against the dollar last month to attract investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The IMF had been calling for a flexible currency regime for many months and the multilateral lender rewarded Egypt\u2019s government by almost tripling the size of a loan program first approved in 2022 to $8 billion. This was a catalyst for a further influx of around $14 billion in financial support from the European Union and the World Bank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike Nigeria\u2019s naira and Egypt\u2019s pound, the value of South Africa\u2019s rand has long been set in the financial markets and it has lost about 4% of its value against the dollar this year. Its economy is expected to benefit from improvements to its energy supply and plans to tackle logistic bottlenecks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Algeria, an OPEC+ member has been benefiting from high oil and gas prices caused first by Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine and now tensions in the Middle East. It stepped in to ease some of Europe\u2019s gas woes after Russia curtailed supplies amid its war in Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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