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Tuesday, 20 December 2022

Ghana is heading for default

Debt-ridden Ghana to default on external debt: Ghana will not continue to make payments on most of its external debts including foreign currency bonds, commercial loans and most bilateral debt citing large capital outflows and a loss of external market access thanks to the pandemic, the country’s Finance Ministry said yesterday. Last week the IMF agreed to offer Ghana a USD 3 bn loan to help the country “restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability.”

Ghana would be the third country this year to default on its debt following Sri Lanka and Russia, and the eighth since the start of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Also worth knowing this morning:

  • EU members have finally agreed on a gas price cap after months of talks: From 15 February, a Europe-wide gas price cap will kick in should prices on the TTF gas exchange rise above EUR 180 / MWh for three consecutive days, according to Reuters. A second condition — designed to deter suppliers from selling to other buyers — will see the cap triggered only when prices are EUR 35 higher than a global LNG reference price for the same three days.
  • Abu Dhabi will host the World Trade Organization’s 2024 ministerial conference, which brings together trade ministers from all over the world. Cameroon will host the following meeting.

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