JOHANNESBURG - The South African rand rode the tailwinds of thawing risk aversion ahead of the South African Reserve Bank’s rate decision today according to NKC Research.
but global markets remain focused on Fed Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Yellen’s second day of testimonies before the Senate Banking Committee on the CARES Act.
On US soil, front-end yields remain anchored by the very dovish Federal Reserve policy and weighed down by a glut of cash at the front-end amid shrinking bill supply, Fed asset purchases and a reduction in Treasury cash balances, which will lift Fed reserves. On local soil, expectations are for a hold in the repo rate (3.5 percent) at this week’s policy rate decision, as we estimate that inflation hit a trough in February with higher administered prices leading the charge in coming months.
At the close of local trade, the rand quoted stronger at R14.86/$, after trading in range of R14.76/$ - R14.93/$. The rand traded steady this morning after slipping at the start of New York trading yesterday afternoon. The expected range of the rand against the dollar today is R14.75/$ - R15.10/$.
South African bourse
The JSE All Share (-0.09 percent) ended narrowly in the red yesterday, as losses in large tech (-0.79 percent) and industrial (-0.77 percent) shares offset gains in resources (+0.94 percent) and gold (+0.82 percent) stocks. In the overall emerging market sphere, the MSCI Emerging Market Index (-1.91 percent) traded deep in negative territory.
Brent crude oil
The Brent oil price rose on Wednesday after a 400m-long container ship has run aground in the Suez Canal, blocking one of the world’s busiest trade arteries. Oil prices managed to claw back previous session losses, but gains were capped by the latest American Petroleum Institute data showing US crude oil inventories increased by 2.9 million barrels last week. At the close of local trade, benchmark Brent crude futures quoted 4.01 percent higher at $63.31pb. Crude prices traded softer during Asian trade.
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