The Iran war is raising borrowing costs for African countries that are only just recovering from the post-pandemic shock that sent debt burdens soaring.

The Iran war is raising borrowing costs for African countries that are only just recovering from the post-pandemic shock that sent debt burdens soaring.

Kenya has spent nearly $1 billion of its hard-currency reserves since the war began, and is prepared to deploy more of its firepower to curb excessive weakness in the shilling, central bank governor Kamau Thugge said Thursday.

The Democratic Republic of Congo raised $1.25 billion from its first sale of dollar bonds, taking advantage of a ceasefire in the war between the US and Iran.

Mozambique’s dollar bonds fell to the lowest in almost three years after authorities gave the strongest signal yet of plans to seek restructuring talks with creditors.

Emerging-market stocks rallied the most since 2022 as optimism about a possible end to the war in Iran spurred appetite for riskier assets after a bruising month in global markets.

A gauge for emerging-market stocks registered its sharpest monthly decline since the pandemic in March 2020, as the Middle East conflict roiled markets and upended global energy shipments.

Mozambique bonds have overtaken Senegal as Africa’s most distressed sovereign debt, as the war in Iran puts fresh strain on the country’s fragile finances.

Mozambique’s dollar bond extended a selloff into an 11th day, pushing the country’s credit deeper into distressed territory, as the oil-price shock strains its already-fragile finances.

A scorching rally by Ghana’s main stock index since the start of the Iran war tops a small cohort of equity markets that have gained amid a wider global selloff.

Ethiopia is set to keep supporting its currency after spending $1.35 billion buying birr this year, an amount that equates to roughly a quarter of its known central bank reserves.

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Senegal’s reliance on a fast-growing regional debt market is easing pressure on Africa’s riskiest credit while delaying discussions about debt restructuring, investors and analysts say.

Senegal has paid coupons and principal on its foreign bonds ahead of this Friday’s deadline, avoiding a potential default as the nation seeks aid from the International Monetary Fund, people familiar with the situation said.

The conflict in the Middle East could spark another round of devaluations in Africa as rising energy costs limit authorities’ ability to defend their currencies, according to BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions Inc.

African dollar bonds extended a recovery on Thursday as investors bet some of the region’s borrowers will benefit from elevated oil and metal prices even as the war in the Middle East saps risk appetite.

A widening Middle-East conflict could prompt African nations to delay further interest rate cuts, as the threat of higher oil prices revives concerns about inflation and risks weakening local currencies.

Fitch Ratings warned of an “inherent risk” of default by Gabon amid mounting concern over whether the oil-producing nation will formally ask the International Monetary Fund for a loan program.

Eurobond issuance from sub-Saharan African countries is off to the strongest start to a year in more than a decade, as nations take advantage of lower borrowing costs and demand from investors diversifying out of US assets.

Kenya and Ivory Coast are the latest African nations to return to the international bond market, seeking to take advantage of lower borrowing costs and a risk-on sentiment to raise funds.