The growing US dollar weighs down on African economies
By Pitamber Kaushik
As the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, continues to hike its lending rates aggressively in order to rein in persistent inflation, the stress exerted by the bulking US Dollar continues to send ripples throughout the world. Being the predominant medium of international exchange, serving as the world’s principal reserve currency, and being the official or de facto primary currency in some 16 countries, the American dollar wields sizable influence on the global economy.
Most African countries are still reeling from the effects of the pandemic and some are going through its aftershocks. High inflation pervades the continent. Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, is experiencing severe inflationary pressure given its overwhelming reliance on imports fo...