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Softer rand lifts commodities
November 22, 2011--South African near-dated futures ended in positive territory on Tuesday, as a weaker rand boosted commodity stocks including Anglo American (ACL) and BHP Billiton (BHP).
The rand slid to 8.45 against the US dollar in intraday trade before recovering slightly.
Viv Govender, market commentator at Vunani Private Clients Services, said the local currency was partly affected by the World Bank's revised growth rate of South Africa.
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Source: FIN24
Sarb warns weak rand threat to inflation
November 22, 2011--South Africa’s inflation risks are skewed to the upside, with cost-push pressures and the sharp depreciation of the rand posing the primary threats to the outlook, the Reserve Bank said on Tuesday.
In its sixth-monthly monetary policy review, the central bank said downside risks stemmed from potential contagion from the eurozone debt crisis and its impact on global economic growth.
It was ready to act “appropriately” whatever the outcome, it added.
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Source: FIN24
Debt worries sink JSE, global stocks
November 21, 2011--Shares on Wall Street hit a one-month low on Monday, extending losses from across Europe as fears over out-of-control government debt on both sides of the Atlantic hit financial markets.
The S&P 500 index fell 2% dropping below 1 200 points for the first time since October.
The Dow and tech-heavy Nasdaq indices also lost about 2% each, following through on last week’s declines as a congressional “super committee” was expected to concede defeat in its bid to lower the US deficit.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds weaken on rand in thin trade
November 21, 2011--South African bonds drifted weaker in midday trade on Monday, on the back of the softer local currency.
By 11:50, the benchmark R157 bond was trading at 6.830% from its previous close of 6.780%. The R207 was trading at 8.010% from a previous close of 7.980% and the R186 was trading at 8.490% from its close of 8.440%.
The rand was bid at 8.2566 against the dollar from its previous close of 8.1853.
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Source: FIN24
Miners battered in SA stocks rout
November 18, 2011--South African stocks closed more than 2% lower on Friday, with gold producers such as Gold Fields and Harmony undermined by the negative sentiment generated by the eurozone’s ongoing debt crisis.
Gold inched up on Friday helped by a weaker dollar, but was still on track for its largest weekly loss since September as eurozone debt contagion worries spooked investors.
This took its toll on the gold stocks and South African equities more generally.
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Source: FIN24
Rand breaks losing streak
November 18, 2011--The rand firmed against the dollar on Friday, breaking a four-day losing trend as investors went into the weekend with hopes of positive news for the euro region’s weary markets, which bodes well for risk sentiment.
Government bonds saw some buyers as investors with a long-term view hold onto high yielding South African debt despite the uncertainty in global markets.
However the currency looked to end at its weakest weekly close since a month ago as the uncertain global environment has made the holding of emerging market assets such as the rand too risky for most investors.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds mixed in quiet trade
November 18, 2011--South African bonds were mixed in quiet midday trade on Friday. The R207s were a smidgen weaker while the R186s remained firmer on the rand.
By 11:50, the benchmark R157 bond was bid at 6.810%, unchanged from its previous close. The R207 was bid at 8.010% and offered at 8.015% from a previous close of 8.005% and the R186 was trading at 8.480% from its close of 8.470%.
The rand was bid at 8.1801 against the dollar from its previous close of 8.2074.
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Source: FIN24
Disappointing results dampen JSE
November 17, 2011--Disappointing figures from South African firms such as Impala Platinum and investment bank Investec put a dampener on stock prices, dragging the blue-chip top-40 index nearly 1% lower on Thursday.
Implats the world’s second-largest producer of the precious metal, reported a 12% drop in gross platinum production in the first quarter, mostly because of operational issues at third parties, while Investec posted a 2 percent decline in first-half earnings.
The Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index closed 0.86% lower at 29 057.13 while the broader All Share [JSE:J200] was 0.72% weaker at 32 438.05.
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Source: FIN24
Rand lacks direction, tracking euro
November 17, 2011--The rand was relatively stable in midday trade on Thursday, lacking any clear direction from a listless euro.
At 11:26 local time, the rand was bid at 8.1502, to the dollar from its previous close of 8.1885 and barely off its morning levels. It was bid at 10.9932 to the euro from 11.0045 before, and at 12.8322 against sterling from 12.8567 previously.
The euro was at $1.3489 from $1.3437 previously.
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Source: FIN24
JSE ends flat, rand weakens
November 16, 2011--South African stocks ended flat on Wednesday with the weak rand supporting exporters and platinum miners such as Northam, which investors were starting to view as oversold.
Investors will be watching U.S. jobless claim figures that are due out on Thursday, and any news out or Europe for direction, said Ferdi Heyneke, portfolio manager at Afrifocus Securities.
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Source: FIN24