War in Ukraine: a varied impact across Africa

Spillovers from the war in Ukraine will have a varied impact across Sub-Saharan Africa. Large oil producers such as Nigeria and Angola are benefitting from the surge in global oil prices but, for the rest of the region, it is worsening their terms of trade. That is a cause for concern for countries already running large current account deficits, such as Kenya, particularly given that external financing conditions have tightened at the same time. The Ghanaian cedi has been a notable casualty among African currencies, further fuelling concerns about its fragile public finances. Meanwhile, with higher commodity prices adding to inflation pressures and the Fed turning more hawkish, central banks may tighten monetary policy more quickly.