Benin’s International Bonds Slip After Attempted Coup

Benin’s international bond prices fell on Monday after an attempted coup on Sunday.

Benin’s President Patrice Talon said government and armed forces had foiled a coup attempt by a group of soldiers.

Tradeweb data showed that the dollar-denominated bonds slipped around 1.5 cents on the dollar.

The 2052 maturity shed as much as 1.8 cents to bid at 88.04 cents on the Euro.

Reuters reported data also showed that the longer-dated maturities, which saw the heftiest declines, later pared their losses with bonds maturing in 2038 and beyond down just over one cent each.

Sunday’s coup attempt is the latest threat to democratic rule in the region in recent years, after militaries seized power in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea, as well as in Guinea-Bissau.

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While the Nigerian government had sent air force fighter jets in support of Talon’s government, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also said it had ordered the immediate deployment of some of its standby force to Benin, including troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, and Ghana.

In its earlier reaction on Sunday, the West African bloc had condemned the coup attempt, calling for full respect of the Constitution of Benin.

It also saluted the efforts of the Government and the Republican Army in bringing the situation under control.