A report by Reuters on Monday, December 2, stated that growing economies that produce oil, like Nigeria, Ecuador and Angola need their oil prices to be around $100 per barrel to balance their budgets.

The report noted that lower oil prices would cause harm to economies that heavily relied on oil revenue for dollars.

The senior emerging markets economist with investment firm, Schroders told Reuters: “They don’t have any savings to fall back on.

“If you get a big hit to your key revenue, then those kinds of big coverages of debts just get worse and worse and worse.”

The debt burden and falling revenue are part of the reasons why investors are overlooking positive developments from Nigeria's sweeping reforms on fuel subsidies and foreign exchange, as well as Angola’s efforts to reduce its debt.

“When oil prices see this kind of pressure, investors tend to paint all oil-producing countries with the same brush,” said Razia Khan, Standard Chartered’s head of research, Africa and Middle East.

The incoming United States president, Donald Trump had promised to “drill, baby, drill” to halve energy costs, a plan that sends shivers through the governments of emerging market oil producers anxious about dollar earnings and fills poorer importing countries with hope.

Trump cannot fully control prices.

The United States has limited influence over producer group OPEC+, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, and it does not have a state oil company Trump can order to increase output.

But an uncertain economic outlook in the biggest oil-consuming countries, notably China, and potential oil oversupply have led investors to hedge their bets on the impact of Trump’s election promise.