EVENTS:

The International Monetary Fund is scheduled to publish its latest economic outlook report for Sub-Saharan Africa on the margins of the lender's joint annual meetings with the World Bank.

GLOBAL MARKETS

The dollar was on the defensive on Friday following its biggest drop in a month against major peers, as it tracked a retreat in U.S. yields from nearly three-month highs after depressed Treasury prices drew buyers.

MKTS/GLOB

WORLD OIL PRICES

Oil prices nudged higher on Friday and are on track for a weekly gain of more than 1%, as tensions in the world's top oil-producing region, the Middle East, and a restart in Gaza ceasefire talks in the coming days kept traders on edge.

O/R

EMERGING MARKETS

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AFRICA STOCKS

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SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS

South Africa's rand gained against a weaker dollar on Thursday while local platinum group metals (PGMs) producers' shares soared over concerns about supply sanctions on top palladium producer Russia.

KENYA MARKETS

The Kenyan shilling was steady against the dollar on Thursday, as remittance inflows matched importer foreign exchange demand, one trader said.

SAHEL SECURITY

Islamist militants fighting in Burkina Faso are discreetly using Ghana's north as a logistical and medical rear base to sustain their insurgency, seven sources told Reuters, a move that could help them expand their footprint in West Africa.

MOZAMBIQUE ELECTION

Mozambique's ruling party Frelimo has retained power in this month's national election, extending its five-decade rule in the Southern African state as the opposition accused it of fraud.

NIGERIA CRASH

At least three people died when a helicopter crashed in Nigeria on its way to an offshore oil production facility on Thursday, the state-owned oil firm NNPC said.

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