Good morning, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On the wires… | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Quote of the day | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
“Don’t find fault, find a remedy.” – Henry Ford | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The indicators | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Currency crackdown… | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yesterday, the rand was broadly steady against the U.S. dollar, with trading dominated by the release of S.A’s inflation data and anticipation of the SARB’s interest rate decision today. The USD/ZAR opened the session at R16.45/$ , before ending the day around R16.40/$, meaning the rand strengthened slightly over the course of the session. Our June inflation came in higher than expected, prompting markets to reassess the likelihood of an interest rate cut at the SARB meeting later today. The stronger inflation print helped underpin the rand. Oil prices rose to a six-week high yesterday as the U.S. and Iran traded strikes, ending the day at just over $94 per barrel, after briefly climbing above $95 per barrel during trading. The increase was mainly driven by growing concerns about tensions in the Middle East, which raised fears that oil supplies from the region could be disrupted. Although data released during the day showed that U.S. oil inventories had increased, these concerns had a much bigger impact on market sentiment. As a result, investors were willing to pay more for oil, pushing prices higher and marking Brent’s strongest trading level in six weeks. Gold prices slipped slightly yesterday, after a strong rally the day before. Although ongoing tensions in the Middle East continued to support demand for safe-haven assets like gold, rising oil prices also raised concerns about inflation, leading investors to expect that U.S. interest rates could remain higher for longer. This made some investors cautious, resulting in a modest pullback. Even so, gold remained close to its highest level in two weeks, showing that demand for the precious metal was still well supported, despite the day’s weaker performance. Spot gold inched 0.2% lower, having climbed to $4,165 in the last session, its highest since the beginning of July. Today, attention will be on the SARB’s interest rate decision and prime rate data release this afternoon. Out of the U.S, we will see Initial Jobless Claims and Continuing Jobless Claims numbers and the Eurozone will also release their Interest Rate decision. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On the radar… | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Did you know? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On this day, in 1903 the first Ford Model A was sold, to a Chicago dentist named Dr. Ernst Pfennig.
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Regards,
Nikita Govender
