President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev posted on Twitter his response to the address of the business representatives.

"I carefully read the Address of SME representatives. The problems raised in the current emergency are relevant. All requests and suggestions will be carefully analyzed. Other measures will be considered at the same time. I will...

Senate speaker, Dariga Nazarbayeva is concerned about the country's self-sufficiency, especially in the coronavirus pandemic. She wrote about this in an article published in Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper, the Senate press service reports.

In early March, Parliament held a hearing in the Upper House on the topic "Light industry in Kazakhstan: current...

One and a half million Kazakhstanis can rely on social benefits that compensate for the loss of income due to the emergency mode in the amount of 42.5 thousand tenge per month. A package of anti-crisis measures worth $10 billion has been launched. Small businesses will focus on the Economics...

Since March 15, a state of emergency has been declared in the country, and then the authorities take a number of measures to ensure the safety of citizens. For example, some houses in cities are cordoned off, for some cities air and rail connections are closed, air passengers arriving from...

The number of infected Kazakhstanis increased to 325 people, Kazpravda.kz reports with reference to the press service of the Health Ministry of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

"Another 17 cases of coronavirus infection were registered: in Nur-Sultan - 2 cases, Almaty - 9 cases, the Kyzylorda region - 3 cases, the Atyrau...

The Government of Kazakhstan decided to allocate 100% of the net income of Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund and national companies for 2019 for dividend payment.

The relevant Decree of the Government of Kazakhstan was adopted at the meeting of the state commission on ensuring the state of emergency under the President...

Banks have announced that they will support their borrowers, whose solvency has suffered due to the introduction of a state of emergency. Credit organisations do not explain how this support will be administered. According to one of the financiers, decisions on the provision of benefits will be taken individually.

Representatives of...

At the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, trades were held in Chinese yuan with settlements on the day of trading and currency swap transactions in relation to the Chinese yuan.

In connection with the tightening of the quarantine regime, from March 30 to April 3, trades in KASE markets will be held for...

Russia’s majority state-owned Sberbank, a subsidiary of which is also among Kazakhstan’s leading banks, plans to expand its presence in Europe. In 2021, the bank will begin to provide services to individuals in Austria, representative of the bank’s Austrian branch told. The bank is currently present in eight countries of...

The dollar snapped a week of declines on Monday, rising against major currencies and riskier emerging markets as investors braced for a prolonged period of uncertainty while governments tightened lockdowns to fight the coronavirus.

China’s offshore yuan fell after the Chinese central bank cut a key interbank interest rate.

The euro, sterling...

The decline in oil prices on the world market will negatively affect Kazakhstan's income. In January alone, oil and gas sales decreased by $900 million. At prices below $25 per barrel, export customs duties will cease to flow at all.

Oil prices have been declining since the beginning of the year....

Kazakhstan's GDP in 2020 may not show growth or even decline. Such forecasts were made by economists. According to the managing director of the Centre for Applied Economics Research Olzhas Tuleuov, the country's economic growth rate in 2020 will be minimal since 1998.

“According to updated estimates of our centre, Kazakhstan’s...

In Kazakhstan, producers of gasoline and diesel fuel sold for export are exempt from excise taxes until December 31, 2020. This was stated in Government Decree of March 27, 2020.

In accordance with Presidential Decree, on further measures to stabilise the economy, the Government decides:

1. For the period until October 1,...

Kazakhstan will produce 2.02 million barrels of oil and other liquids per day in 2020, according to the March Short-term Energy Outlook (STEO) of US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

According to the EIA’s forecasts, this figure decreased from 2.03 million barrels per day in the previous report.

"Kazakhstan has been producing 2.03 million, 1.85...

PetroChina, China's largest oil and gas producer, reported expansion in revenue in 2019, while its net profit saw a remarkable drop due to the slowing global economic growth and unrest in the international oil market.

Revenue rose 6 percent year-on-year to 2.52 trillion yuan ($355.22 billion), according to the company's annual...

A new agreement to stabilize oil markets is possible if more nations support the initiative, according to the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Kirill Dmitriev.

In an interview to Reuters, the sovereign wealth fund chief said that coronavirus epidemic has become a "perfect storm" to trigger a new global financial...

Crude oil fell sharply on Monday, with U.S. crude briefly dropping below $20 and Brent hitting its lowest level in 18 years, on heightened fears that the global coronavirus shutdown could last months and demand for fuel could evaporate further. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, was down...

The British within-day gas price was lifted by an undersupplied system on Monday morning, while other contracts fell under pressure from continued weak demand.

The within-day contract was up 0.35 pence at 19.00 p/therm by 0951 GMT.

The day-ahead contract was down 0.25 pence at 18.75 p/therm.

Traders said the within-day contract was...

Gold prices edged higher on Monday as investors sought safe havens, with fears about the economic damage from the coronavirus intensifying after governments extended lockdowns to curtail its spread. Spot gold was up 0.3% at $1,621.60 per ounce by 0941 GMT, while U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $1,629.30.

“Volatility due...

Aluminium prices hit four-year lows on Monday as worries about prolonged shutdowns around the world due to the coronavirus reinforced fears of a deep recession and tumbling demand for industrial metals.

Benchmark aluminium on the London Metal Exchange traded down 1.1pc at $1,528 a tonne in official rings.

Prices of the metal...

Eni, through its local renewable subsidiary ArmWind, has started the commercial production of the Badamsha wind farm located in North-West Kazakhstan, in the Aktobe Region.

The Badamsha Wind Farm has a capacity of 48MW and will provide the region with an annual power generation of about 198 GWh. Last year, Eni,...

Domestic companies have established round-the-clock production of medical masks. This is reported by the press service of the Ministry of industry and infrastructure development.

For March 28, 2020, the daily production of masks amounted to 773 thousand, of which pharmaceutical enterprises accounted for 228 thousand, clothing-545 thousand.

The Ministry of Healthcare distributes...

In April 2020, Kazakhstan will impose the quotas for export shipments of wheat and wheat flour. The reporting decision was made during the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kazakhstan, on March 30.

According to preliminary information, the quota volumes in April will total 200 thsd tonnes of wheat, and...

Kazakhstan wants to arrange recycling of agricultural machinery. The project is estimated at 3 billion tenge, with reference to the press service of the operator ROP.

The construction of a plant for the disposal of obsolete agricultural machinery is already under consideration. The cost of creating a waste processing cluster will...

Subsidiaries of the KazAgro, including Agrarian Credit Corporation, KazAgroFinance and the Fund for Financial Support for Agriculture, will provide deferred payments for customers who received loans/leases until March 16, 2020, if the need for deferment arose as a result of a state of emergency. The procedure for granting deferrals of...

Chicago wheat futures rose for a second session on Monday after a proposal by the world's top wheat supplier Russia to limit grain exports added to concerns about supply tensions arising from the coronavirus crisis.

Soybean futures also extended gains as the risk of logistical snags in South American soybean belts...

About 30% of Kazakhstan’s freight transportation sector profitability is lost due to high costs and low digitalisation. For example, depreciation for certain types of transport infrastructure takes from 40% to 100%, and the use of digital technologies is carried out in less than 10% of companies. As a result, the...

According to UNESCO, on March 25, 2020, more than 1.5 billion children were left without access to school education due to an outbreak of coronavirus, 87.1% of all students. Schools have closed nationwide in 165 countries.

According to the Committee on Statistics of the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan, in...

The Ministry of Agriculture of Russia proposed to impose the quantitative restrictions on grain exports in the fourth quarter of 2019/20 MY. The corresponding proposal can be found in the draft decree developed by the Ministry "On imposition of the temporary quantitative restrictions on the exports of grain crops from...

As Covid-19 spreads, enforcing a nationwide shutdown across the world's largest country isn't easily done, in practical terms. With this in mind, it seems the Russian government has reached for the carrot rather than the stick.

After all, there's a considerable difference between enforcing rules in Moscow's tightly packed metropolitan area...

The onset of a recession in the Russian economy this year is unavoidable. International rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) forecasts a 0.8% decline in domestic GDP. The Russian economy may fall by 7% this year, and quarantine measures will accelerate the decline, independent economists believe.

Meanwhile, the Russian government believes...

Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov has proposed to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin a series of urgent measures to support the consumer market for a term of six months, according to a letter sent to the government, whose authenticity was confirmed by two sources.

The package of measures for...

The Russian rouble weakened towards 80 versus the dollar on Monday, hit by a crash in oil prices to the lowest since 2002 and by a deteriorating economic outlook.

At 0944 GMT, the rouble had shed 0.6% of its value against the dollar to 79.39, moving closer to the 81.97 hit earlier this month,...

China stocks ended lower on Monday as investor concerns over coronavirus-driven global shutdowns overshadowed an unexpected rate cut by the country’s central bank.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.9% at 2,747.21.

The blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.97%, with its financial sector sub-index lower by 0.69%, the consumer...

 The limitation on foreign stakes in securities firms in China is scheduled to be scrapped on April 1 as the country moves ahead with opening its financial industry to foreign investors, according to the top securities regulator.

Eligible foreign investors can file applications for the registration of new securities firms or...

 Mongolia has gradually resumed coal exports to China by reopening its border with the neighbour, which has made visible progress in containing COVID-19, authorities said Monday.

Mongolia opened its Shiveekhuren border point on Monday, a week after the country resumed coal exports to China through Gasuunsukhait border point, Finance Minister Chimed...

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic SOCAR and Norwegian Equinor company signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of labor safety and environmental protection, according to SOCAR.

SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev received Head of the representative office of the Equinor company in Azerbaijan Fawad Quraishi on March 30. The...

Date: March 31, 2020; Source: Bloomberg.com

Energy

Precious and Industrial Metals

Agriculture

Date: March 31, 2020; Source: the National Bank of Kazakhstan