South African petrochemicals giant, Sasol Ltd, has said on Wednesday that it will cut its guidance for synthetic fuel production and liquid fuel sales for this financial year. The decision was due to a three-week nationwide lockdown linked to coronavirus.

Sasol is now expecting to produce approximately between 7.3 and 7.4 million tons of synfuel against the previously guided range of between 7.7 and 7.8 million tons. In a statement to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Sasol said it is also targeting sales of between 50 and 51 million barrels of liquid fuel for the financial year 2020, against 57 to 58 million barrels previously.

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Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, has declared a state of emergency in the country to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus, his office said on Twitter.

The Prime Minister's office, on Wednesday, said the decision was taken after considering the gravity of the COVID19 in the country.

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Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund says it is considering Nigeria’s request for 3.4 billion dollars in emergency financing to combat the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, said Nigeria’s economy was threatened by the twin shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and a sharp fall in international oil prices. According to her, the country had asked for funding to help protect the most vulnerable people and companies.

Georgieva said the Nigerian government was taking a number of measures aimed at containing the spread of the virus and its impact. She adds that the emergency funding requested under IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument would allow the government to address additional and urgent balance of payments needs, and to direct funds to priority health expenditures.

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The World Bank has announced a 31.2 billion naira support for Nigeria’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, the bank said it is moving quickly to provide fast and flexible support to help Nigeria and other African countries in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing direct and long-term financial support over the next 15 months.

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A report has shown that the naira will experience more pressure due to slump in the crude oil prices, and as the economy grapples with challenges from the coronavirus pandemic.

The report, by Agusto & Coin, states that the consumption of energy had declined materially, leading to a supply glut in the crude oil market.

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The Treasury House at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, is on fire.

Presently, efforts were being made to put out the flames.

It remains unclear where the fire started and what triggered the outbreak.

The building houses office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation says demand for Nigeria’s crude oil in March dropped by 6.8 million barrels due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, on Wednesday, said the drop in demand for oil was not peculiar to Nigeria but global.

According to him, demand for Nigerian crude, last week, dropped as low as 15 dollars per barrel. He however notes that oil is currently around 32 dollars, 79 cents a barrel.

The NNPC boss expressed optimism that things would rebound before the end of the year.

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Nigeria has recorded another death from the deadly COVID-19 virus. This puts the total death-toll from the virus at seven. The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, made the announcement in a tweet on Wednesday. The Commissioner said the fatality recorded in Lagos involved a 66-year-old citizen of the United Kingdom.

Prof Abayomi said the victim travelled from India via Dubai and entered Lagos on the 17th of March, 2020.

He further disclosed that another COVID-19 patient has been discharged after full recovery, bringing the number of discharged patients to 32.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria has risen to 254 after 16 new cases were recorded on Tuesday. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said ten of the new cases were discovered in Lagos and two infections were confirmed in the Federal Capital Territory. The agency adds that Oyo also recorded two new infections while Delta and Katsina States recorded their first cases of coronavirus.

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A major car insurer in the US is refunding millions of dollars to customers stuck at home during coronavirus lockdowns.

Allstate, the country's fourth biggest car insurer, said it would give back $600m (£490m) in total to customers.

Another insurer, American Family Mutual, is also refunding customers, with cheques totaling $200m. Both have seen a dramatic drop in accident claims as residents stay at home and off the roads.

The refunds come at a good time with millions of households suffering financially from lockdowns across the country.

Allstate will be paying customers back in two ways. Drivers in quarantine will receive refunds, while most customers will be given a 15% discount on monthly premiums for April and May. The discounts will apply to 18 million customers.

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to announce a state of emergency on Tuesday for the capital Tokyo and six other prefectures to stem a worrying rise in coronavirus infections in major population centres.

The government is also planning to finalise a massive stimulus package worth 108 trillion yen ($990 billion) - equal to 20% of Japan’s economic output - to cushion the heavy impact of the pandemic on the world’s third-largest economy.

Abe will hold a news conference at 7 p.m. (1000 GMT), after seeking formal advice on declaring the emergency from a panel of experts.

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