July 2025 Central Africa Macro Outlook: Cameroon, DRC

Executive summary

While geopolitical tensions remain elevated, the recent de-escalation in the Middle East spurred a modest risk-on shift, bolstering capital flows to emerging markets, including Central Africa. Commodity prices remained relatively firm. Healthy oil prices supported oil-dependent economies like Cameroon, while elevated copper and tin prices boosted the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) export revenues. However, US-EU trade frictions, with talks stalling ahead of President Trump’s July 9, 2025, tariff deadline, pose downside risks to export-driven growth across the region.
The Central African CFA franc (XAF), which is pegged to the euro, gained support from the euro’s safe-haven appeal amid persistent global uncertainty. In contrast, the Congolese franc (CDF) remained under pressure amid fiscal strains and political uncertainty. The June 27 peace agreement between the DRC and Rwanda is expected to anchor near-term stability of the CDF. Nonetheless,