JOHANNESBURG - The South African currency endured yet another turbulent session in a tense countdown to Moody’s rating decision according to NKC Research.
The commencement of a 21-day lockdown period was mostly met by calm, although poor neighbourhoods flouted restrictions on gatherings and movement as residents lamented that dismal conditions were not suitable for prolonged containment. South Africans were greeted at dawn with news of the country’s first two Covid-19-related deaths while confirmed infections surpassed the 1,000 mark. On US soil, the annual pace of headline inflation held steady at 1.8 percent y-o-y while core inflation ticked up 0.1 ppt to 1.8 percent year-on-year – the fastest pace since January 2019. At the close of local trade, the rand quoted 1.32 percent weaker at R17.61/$, after trading in range of R17.31/$ - R17.66/$. The rand eased this morning after breaking through the R18-level for the first time ever. Today’s trading range will likely entail the rand weakening past the key level.
South African bourse
The JSE All Share (-4.66 percent) ended lower on Friday, dragged by losses across the board, amid persisting global market upheaval. In the overall emerging market sphere, the MSCI Emerging Market Index (-1.03 percent) traded softer.
Brent crude oil
Weak crude demand outweighed stimulus efforts causing Brent oil prices to plunge on Friday. At the close of local trade, benchmark Brent crude futures quoted 7.46 percent lower at $24.57pb. Crude prices extended losses during Asian trade this morning.