ECONOMYNEXT – Frontier market economies that are sizeable net importers of fossil fuel, like Sri Lanka, will see increasing pressure on their balance of payments due to the rise in energy prices, Fitch Ratings has said. Countries that are net energy exporters are set to benefit in relative terms by contrast. “Higher energy prices are also liable to push up inflation.
Prior to the energy price shock, most frontier markets had inflation under control, and central banks were mostly able to hold or cut policy rates, the global ratings agency said. Real policy rates are typically higher than in developed markets, it pointed out. Fitch’s quarterly Frontier Markets Economic Monitor chart pack tracks high-frequency macroeconomic data for the countries included in the J.P.
Morgan’s Next Generation Markets (NEXGEM) Index, incorporating the latest changes in composition. The index comprises countries from sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and Asia. At its Spring Meetings in Washington last week, the International Monetary Fund warned that commodity-importing emerging market and developing economies (EMDE) face the sharpest toll from the war in West Asia.
As of Tuesday, diplomatic efforts to end the US-Israel war on Iran remained uncertain, after the US seizure of the Iranian merchant vessel Touska. The US-Iran ceasefire is set to expire at 8 pm ET on Wednesday (midnight GMT, 3.30 am Thursday in Iran) according to US President Donald Trump. (Colombo/Apr21/2026)