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Dollar Rises Amid Plan To Increase Chinese Goods’ Tariffs

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The United States dollar rose to its highest level in almost two weeks against its major rivals yesterday after US President Donald Trump said that he would push ahead with tariffs on Chinese goods, fuelling concern about world trade tensions.
Sterling was the weakest performing major currency, falling across the board after Trump said the agreement on the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union may make trade between the United States and Britain more difficult.
Separately, Trump told the Wall Street Journal that he expected to move ahead with raising tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 per cent from 10 per cent currently.
The threat of an escalating trade conflict between the world’s two biggest economies is a major source of concern for next year, amid expectations the global economy could slow, and a backdrop that has boosted demand for the safe-haven dollar.
BlackRock, for example, believes an escalation in the trade conflict could stoke fears of a devaluation in the Chinese currency.
Credit Suisse strategists expect the yuan to weaken to a decade low of 7.20 per dollar by end-2019.
The dollar index .DXY, which measures the dollar’s value against six other major currencies, rose 0.2 percent to 97.28, its highest level in almost two weeks.
Broader optimism towards the greenback was reflected in positioning data for the week ending Nov. 26, which shows hedge funds added a net $1.28 billion long positions in the dollar.
Trump’s latest remarks on trade come just before a G20 meeting in Buenos Aires on Nov. 30 where Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet.
“The upcoming meeting between Trump and Xi is pivotal going into the year-end and for the outlook for global growth, which has shown signs of slowing,” said Lee Hardman, a currency analyst at MUFG in London.
“If there’s no breakthrough, that makes it more likely that more tariffs will be imposed and that increases downside risks to trade,” he said.
The euro dipped to $1.1305, its lowest level since mid-November. It was last trading at $1.1343, down 0.1 percent on the day.
The yen was steady at 113.67 yen per dollar, while the trade-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars inched higher.
According to Hardman, “Trump’s comments are clearly impacting risk more directly through the stock markets,” said Neil Mellor, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon.
“But the impact is not that great and you could argue that many are coming to the conclusion that this is really the way that President Trump does business, driving a hard deal. That’s one reason at least the FX market has taken this in its stride.” European stock markets were broadly weaker , while U.S. stock futures pointed to a weak open for Wall Street shares.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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