NAIROBI, April 16 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Friday. – – – – – GLOBAL MARKETS A batch of Chinese and U.S. economic data helped underpin global stocks near record highs on Friday, as investors priced in a solid global recovery from the coronavirus-induced slump. WORLD OIL PRICES Oil prices dipped in early trade on Friday but were on course for a weekly gain of more than 6% with an improved oil demand outlook and strong economic recoveries in China and the United States offsetting concerns about spikes in COVID-19 infections. EMERGING MARKETS For the top emerging markets news, double click on AFRICA STOCKS For the latest news on African stocks, click on SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS South Africa’s rand rallied to its best in 15 months on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session supported by strong risk appetite and positive local retail sales data. KENYA MARKETS The Kenyan shilling was unchanged on Thursday, and was forecast to strengthen due to low importer dollar demand, traders said. NIGERIA INFLATION Nigeria’s annual inflation climbed to a more than four-year high in March, rising 82 basis points from a month earlier to 18.17%, the statistics office said on Thursday. SUB-SAHARA ECONOMIC GROWTH Sub-Saharan Africa is set to record the slowest economic growth of any world region this year as the continent struggles to bounce back from a pandemic-triggered downturn, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday. For the latest precious metals report click on For the latest base metals report click on For the latest crude oil report click on

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