Nigeria rate hike, Kenya inflation, Zambia debt deal

The Nigerian central bank’s 400bp interest rate hike should help provide respite to the naira and help to curb inflation. But Nigeria will need to shift away from interventionist fiscal and FX short-term fixes or it risks another build up of macro imbalances. Elsewhere, Kenya’s lower-than-expected inflation reading for February means the central bank’s hiking cycle is almost certainly over and attention can soon turn to cuts. Finally, Zambia’s restructuring deal with China (and India) may be another false dawn. China has offered little assurance it won't continue to spoil private bondholder talks, keeping Zambia locked out of capital markets for longer.