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Rand off session's worst level
August 6, 2012--The rand recovered to below the 8.15 to the US dollar level in late trade on Monday as the euro/US dollar re-tested the 1.24 level in an otherwise quite market.
At 15:58 local time the rand was bid at R8.1457 to the dollar from Friday’s close of R8.1441. It was bid at R10.0939 to the euro from its previous close of R10.0799 and at R12.6823 against sterling from R12.7183 before.
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Source: FIN24
JSE closes at new all-time high
August 3, 2012--The JSE closed at a fresh all-time high on Friday with banks and financials leading the upside, while gold miners lost some steam due to profit taking.
Nedbank Group Limited [JSE:NED] reached an all-time high‚ adding R4.74‚ or 2.59%‚to R188.03‚ along with Firstrand Limited [JSE:FSR]‚ which gained R1.10‚ or 3.94%‚ to R29.00; Standard Bank Group [JSE:SBK] climbed R2.85‚ or 2.48%‚ to R117.95. Mmi Holding Limited [JSE:MMI] performed best of the financial‚ gaining 65 cents‚ or 3.47% to R19.40.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds rally on offshore demand
August 3, 2012--The SA bond market rallied at noon on Friday, with shorter end of the yield curve in particular attracting much interest.
“There's renewed buying interest from foreigners after they digested both the outcomes of the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve‚” a Johannesburg-based bond trader said. “Liquidity however remains thin ahead of the US jobs report this afternoon.
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Source: FIN24
Nigeria's Crude Output Hits 2.7m barrels
August 3, 2012--The Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu, Monday disclosed that the country's crude oil output has increased from 2.4 million barrels per day (mbpd) to 2.7 mbpd.
Yakubu told visiting Governor of Benue State, Dr. Gabriel Suswam, who led a delegation on a working visit to the NNPC Towers in Abuja, that the country’s crude oil production on Wednesday peaked at an all-time high of 2.7mbpd, adding that this was a first for the country since it started crude oil production over 50 years ago.
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Source: This Day Live
SA stocks hit record high for third day
August 2, 2012--South Africa's All-share index hit a record high for the third straight trading session on Thursday, edging up as shares of miners and brewers continued to gain on optimism for growth in Africa's top economy.
The All Share [JSE:J203], the broadest measure of South African stock performance, touched a record of 35,162.91 before edging back. It was up 0.06% at 35,092.78 at 07:11 GMT.
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Source: FIN24
Rand stable ahead of ECB meeting
August 2, 2012--The rand was a bit stronger at noon on Thursday. The currency found itself in stable territory, tracking the euro, while eagerly awaiting the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England's rate announcements this afternoon.
“The Federal Reserve’s Ben Bernanke said nothing last night and I am sure he will do something before the US election in October this year. I am expecting some monetary stimulus in September‚ by the latest in October. The rand is stable now‚ waiting for the ECB’s president Mario Draghi - then there will be chaos‚” said Mark Kalkwarf‚ portfolio manager at Iquad Group.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds weaker as auction disappoints
August 2, 2012--South African bonds were trading slightly weaker at noon on Thursday on the back of a disappointing switch auction this morning and due to a sell-off in the market because of the lack of action by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
“There is a risk that the European Central Bank (ECB) may also not perform to market expectations later this afternoon‚ which could lead to further a bond sell-off and thus more weakening‚” said a local trader.
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Source: FIN24
IMF Working paper-A Financial Conditions Index for South Africa
August 1, 2012--Summary: The main purpose of this paper is to construct a financial conditions index (FCI) for South Africa.
The analysis extracts the index by applying two alternative approaches (principal component analysis and Kalman filter), which identify an unobservable common factor from a group of external and domestic financial indicators. The alternative estimated FCIs, which share a similar trajectory over time, seem to have a powerful predictive information for the near-term GDP growth (up to four quarters), and they outperform the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) leading indicator as well as individual financial variables. Their recent dynamics suggest that following a strong recovery in late-2009 and 2010, reflecting in part domestic factors such as systematic reductions in the policy rate, the rebound in real economic activity, and a benign inflationary environment, the financial conditions have deteriorated in recent months, though not as sharply as in end-2008. Given their relatively high predictive power regarding GDP growth, a further deterioration may imply that economic activity is likely to slow in the period ahead.
IMF Working paper-A Financial Conditions Index for South Africa
Source: IMF
All-share closes above record 35 000
August 1, 2012--The broad All-share index closed above 35 000 for the first time in its 17-year history on Wednesday, rising 1.37% as telecoms, brewers and banks all gained on hopes of further stimulus by global central banks.
But some market players cautioned the recent rise was overdone, especially given the fragile outlook for growth in Africa's top economy.
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Source: FIN24
JSE stays firmer, led by platinums
August 1, 2012--The JSE share market was in record territory at noon on Wednesday, bouncing back from the previous day's losses, as equity markets looked to the US Fed policy statement later today.
Platinum shares and industrials led the upside‚ with SABMiller [JSE:SAB] reaching a fresh record high.
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Source: FIN24