{"id":630384,"date":"2018-04-19T03:50:13","date_gmt":"2018-04-19T03:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/04\/19\/what-were-tracking-on-19-april-2018\/"},"modified":"2018-04-19T03:50:13","modified_gmt":"2018-04-19T03:50:13","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-19-april-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/04\/19\/what-were-tracking-on-19-april-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 19 April 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Will Egypt need to revise its oil price estimates for FY2018-19? <\/strong>Saudi Arabia would be happy to push production down to see oil back at USD 100 per bbl, industry sources tell Reuters<\/a>. Bloomberg had previously reported that Saudi is hoping to see oil prices reach USD 80 per bbl to finance its expansive reform agenda and military campaign in neighboring Yemen. As we noted last week<\/a>, though, higher oil prices could erode Egypt\u2019s ability to meet its target of cutting the deficit to 8.4% of GDP next fiscal year, as the FY2018-19 state budget assumes an oil price of USD 67.20 per bbl. Oil futures rose 3% yesterday in reaction to the Reuters report, with Brent settling at USD 73.48 per bbl.<\/p>\n

Finance Minister Amr El Garhy participated in a high-level roundtable discussion on fiscal transparency in the Middle East and North Africa<\/strong> at the IMF and World Bank spring meetings yesterday. El Garhy outlined some of the efforts Egypt has taken to make the budget more transparent, as well as future initiatives, such as including other ministries, civil society organizations and NGOs in policy initiatives and funding. It is worth noting that Egypt jumped 24 places to rank 65th out of 115 countries in the bi-annual International Budget Partnership\u2019s Open Budget Survey<\/a>, which ranks countries for the transparency of their budget. You can watch the two-hour panel here if you are so inclined (runtime: 2:02:08)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Global stocks rose to a four-week high on Wednesday<\/strong>, with MSCI\u2019s global gauge up 0.56%, Reuters reports<\/a>. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all posted modest gains for the day.<\/p>\n

International fear of a trade war between the US and China has dissipated this week, but the rumblings continue, with Beijing saying it is preparing for the worst.<\/strong> China has contingency plans a spokesman for the National Development and Reform Commission said at a news conference on Wednesday, according to Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That comes as the European Union looks like it wants to cozy up to the US to present a united front against \u201cwhat both see as China\u2019s unfair trade practices,\u201d <\/strong>unnamed officials tell the Wall Street Journal<\/a>. They said the EU \u2014 in its bid to avoid having new tariffs imposed on its steel and aluminum exports to the US in two weeks\u2019 time \u2014 will present the White House with the \u201cpeace offer,\u201d which also includes an agreement to \u201clower tariffs on US cars, parts, and industrial machinery entering Europe\u2026 [and] could also apply to some agricultural products and pharmaceuticals.\u201d In exchange, the EU would ask for access to US government procurement.<\/p>\n

Why this is news, we don\u2019t know, but here you go:<\/strong> Ramadan falls in May and June this year, and it will be hot. Daytime highs will range between 31\u00b0C and 33\u00b0C at the beginning of the holy month and will rise to 38\u00b0C by the end of Ramadan, Meteorological Authority Chairman Ahmed Abdel Aal said yesterday, according to Al Masry Al Youm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some light reading to send you into the weekend on the right foot:<\/strong><\/p>\n