RFA Breakfast Paper - August 7, 2026

Angola's Inflation Falls Below 10% as Kwanza Stability Supports Disinflation

Angola’s annual inflation rate eased further to 9.33% in July 2026, down from 10.11% in June, remaining close to its lowest level since 2015 and extending the disinflationary trend to a 24th consecutive month. The continued moderation was largely supported by the sustained stability of the kwanza and improved domestic availability of essential goods. Price growth slowed across most major categories, most notably transportation, where inflation fell sharply to 3.65% from 15.40%, while food and non-alcoholic beverages eased to 10.40% from 10.73%, and housing and utilities to 10.17% from 11.14%. Inflation also moderated for clothing and footwear and miscellaneous goods and services, while alcoholic beverages and tobacco remained broadly stable. In contrast, education inflation accelerated sharply to 25.24% from 13.40%, while communication costs also increased. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.75%, up from 0.52% in June, indicating some renewed short-term price pressure despite the broader disinflation trend. Overall, the continued decline in headline inflation strengthens the case for further monetary easing by the National Bank of Angola, provided exchange-rate stability is maintained and monthly price pressures remain contained.

U.S. Stocks Hit Record Highs as Jobs Report Eases Rate-Hike Fears

U.S. equities closed higher on Friday after a surprise contraction in July payrolls, with the S&P 500 rising 0.62% to a record 7,757.64, the Nasdaq Composite gaining 1.30% to 26,690.62 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.28% to 54,036.93. Nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1%, with losses concentrated in local government education and retail trade and continued growth in health care, against a consensus of roughly +83,000. May and June were revised down by a combined 103,000, and average hourly earnings growth slipped to 3.2% year-on-year, the softest since May 2021. Treasury yields fell alongside the report, and markets removed a September rate hike from expectations. For the week, the S&P 500 advanced 3.6% and the Nasdaq 5.2%. Oil eased, with WTI around $77 a barrel and Brent near $82, down 1.7% on the day, as optimism over a partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz faded on disagreement over transit terms. Attention now turns to next week's Consumer Price Index for further direction on Federal Reserve policy.

NGX Sustains Uptrend as FUGAZ Banks Offset Broad Sell-Offs

The Nigerian equity market closed the week higher on Friday, with the NGX All-Share Index advancing 364.26 points, or 0.15%, to 245,573.60 from 245,209.34 in the previous session, while market capitalisation rose 0.15% to ₦158.513 trillion from ₦158.278 trillion, lifting the year-to-date return to 57.81%. The advance was driven mainly by buying interest in the FUGAZ banking names; First HoldCo, UBA, GTCO, Access Holdings and Zenith Bank (GTCO closed flat), with FCMB and Fidelity Bank providing additional support. UPDC led the gainers with a 9.23% advance to ₦3.55, followed by CMFC (+8.00%) and CWG (+6.56%), while REDSTAREX paced the losers, shedding 10.00% to ₦18.00. Market breadth remained negative, with 26 gainers against 28 losers and 93 unchanged. Total volume stood at 1.52 billion shares worth ₦26.65 billion in 42,517 deals, with FTGINSURE the most active by volume and ACCESSCORP leading by value. Stock Market extends Bull Run, Investors Gain N235bn - P.M. News +3One flag: breadth figures differ across sources for the session — P.M. News reported 22 gainers against 24 losers versus the 26/28 above. Worth confirming against the official NGX daily price list before you send.