Another sign that the Fed will stay hawkish: Federal Reserve Governor Mary Daly has become the latest official at the central bank to signal that interest rates will have to rise further than expected and will remain higher for longer. “It’s clear there is more work to do,” the San Francisco Fed president said yesterday. “In order to put this episode of high inflation behind us, further policy tightening, maintained for a longer time, will likely be necessary.” Bloomberg and the Financial Times have more.

Turkey and the UAE are continuing to cozy up: Turkey and the UAE have agreed to more than double their trade volumes over the coming five years to reach USD 40 bn from last year’s USD 19 bn under a newly-signed agreement, Emirati state news agency WAM reports. The agreement is expected to open up new markets for the two countries in an array of sectors — agriculture, food security, telecom, logistics, real estate, and renewable energy. The former foes signed a series of major investment agreements in 2021 which will see Abu Dhabi invest USD 10 bn in key areas of the Turkish economy.

ALSO WORTH NOTING:

• Global food prices slip again: Food prices continued to slip in February as a drop in vegetable oils and dairy prices sent the UN’s Food and Agriculture index to its lowest level since September 2021. (FAO)
• PIF wants a piece of UK hotels group: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund reportedly wants a significant minority stake in British hotel group Rocco Forte Hotels in a transaction that could value the group at around USD 1.4 bn. (Bloomberg)
• More cost-cutting at Amazon: E-commerce giant Amazon has hit the brakes on the construction of its USD 2.5 bn headquarters in Virginia, as it looks to cut unnecessary spending amid a cash crunch. The e-commerce giant said in January that it would lay off 18k employees around the world. (Financial Times)

	EGX30	16,847	-1.6% (YTD: +15.4%)
	USD (CBE)	Buy 30.66	Sell 30.75
	USD at CIB	Buy 30.67	Sell 30.77
	Interest rates CBE	16.25% deposit	17.25% lending
	Tadawul	10,278	+0.8% (YTD: -1.9%)
	ADX	9,907	+0.4% (YTD: -3.0%)
	DFM	3,420	-0.5% (YTD: +2.5%)
	S&P 500	4,046	+1.6% (YTD: +5.4%)
	FTSE 100	7,947	+0.0% (YTD: +6.7%)
	Euro Stoxx 50	4,295	+1.3% (YTD: +13.2%)
	Brent crude	USD 85.83	+1.3%
	Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 3.01	+8.8%
	Gold	USD 1,854.60	+0.8%
	BTC	USD 22,216	-0.1% (YTD: 34.4%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 1.6% at Thursday’s close on turnover of EGP 2.1 bn (4.1% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 15.4% YTD.

In the green: AMOC (+2.2%), Oriental Weavers (+2.2%) and Rameda Pharma (+1.7%).

In the red: Eastern Company (-4.7%), Fawry (-4.1%) and Credit Agricole Egypt (-2.7%).