Day: April 6, 2022

The World Bank on Wednesday signed a $400 million loan agreement with Tunisia to help the country mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agreement was signed by Tunisian Minister of Economy and Planning Samir Saied and the World Bank Country Manager for Tunisia, Alexandre Arrobbio.

Wednesday’s loan agreement was the second after the World Bank provided the North African nation with a loan of $300 million last week to finance the emergency project for social protection, bringing the total funding to $700 million.

Minister of Social Affairs Malek Ezzahi said the funding will help around 310,000 vulnerable and low-income households in Tunisia.

Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis coupled with the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

*Writing by Bassel Barakat in Ankara

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Russian ruble is gaining ground against the greenback, nearly returning to its pre-war level, according to data from the Moscow stock exchange.

The US dollar/ruble exchange rate fell 2.54% to 81 as of Wednesday, the first time it has reached that level since Feb. 24, the day Russian launched its war on Ukraine.

Analysts said Russia’s demand for the use of rubles to pay for gas along with high energy prices are helping the Russian currency.

Russian crude oil is trading for about $107 per barrel in international markets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently signed a decree requiring “unfriendly” countries to pay for Russian gas in rubles, adding that gas contracts will be stopped unless payment is made in rubles as of April 1.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Global air travel more than doubled in February compared to the same month of last year, reiterating recovery gathering steam with the lift of coronavirus related restrictions, a top trade group said on Wednesday.

Measured in revenue passenger kilometers, total air traffic boomed 115.9% year-on-year in February, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a statement.

This indicated an acceleration compared to January’s annual rise of 83.1%. However, traffic was 45.5% lower compared to the pre-virus period in February 2019.

“States that persist in attempting to lock out the disease, rather than managing it, as we do with other diseases, risk missing out on the enormous economic and societal benefits that a restoration of international connectivity will bring,” IATA head Willie Walsh said.

The war in Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, did not have a major impact on traffic levels, IATA stressed.

Meanwhile, demand for air cargo rose 2.9% on a yearly basis in February despite a challenging operating backdrop.

The annual increase was driven by quick ramp-up in manufacturing activity after the early February Lunar New Year holiday, relaxation of COVID-19 travel restrictions, reduced flight cancellations due to the omicron variant of coronavirus, and fewer winter weather operational disruptions.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Italy’s government expects much lower growth this year as the economic fallout of the war in Ukraine adds to other economic headwinds like rising inflation and supply bottlenecks.

In a document set to be approved by the cabinet on Wednesday and seen in advance by Anadolu Agency, Rome authorities say the gross domestic product (GDP) is set to rise by 3.1% in 2022, compared to a previous forecast, from late September, of 4.7%.

In February, the European Commission predicted that Italy’s GDP would expand by 4.1% this year, while Confindustria, the country’s main business lobby, was much more pessimistic in a report issued on the weekend, which forecast annual growth of 1.9%.

According to the government, Italy’s GDP will move into negative territory in the first quarter of 2022, shrinking by 0.5% on a quarterly basis, compared to 0.6% growth in the previous three months.

Mario Draghi’s executive is also set to dramatically revise inflation forecasts. In the new official forecasts, prices are expected to rise annually by 5.8% in 2022, compared to 1.6% from the previous government forecast.

Source: Anadolu Agency