News in South Africa 31st August: 1. Rand falls after record budget deficit: The rand dropped, underperforming most emerging-market peers, and yields on South African local-currency bonds rose after data showed the government ran a record budget deficit in July. The rand weakened as much as 0.8% against the dollar after National Treasury figures showed […]
News in South Africa 23rd August: 1. Petrol price spike: Vehicle finance group WesBank says that a weaker rand and rising oil prices are converging to deliver a blow to motorists in September. “As September approaches, the convergence of oil prices and the rand/dollar exchange rate assumes paramount significance in shaping local fuel prices,” the […]
News in South Africa 16th August: 1. Unemployment concerns: Despite a slight drop in the unemployment rate economists still believe that far too many people in South Africa remain unemployed. On Tuesday, Statistics South Africa released the second Quarter Labour Force Survey for the period starting from 1 April to the end of June 2023. […]
News in South Africa 7th August: 1. Government credibility scares off investors: The government’s lack of credibility due to its poor economic policy, unsustainable debt burden, and policy uncertainty adds to the risk premium on South African assets, making investors fearful of investing in the country. Following the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) Annual General […]
News in South Africa 25th July: 1. Rand makes a comeback: The rand is looking set for a tough week ahead, with US rate hikes likely to weaken the local currency. The rand has been one of the worst-performing major currencies in the world and reached a record high of nearly $20.00/$ in May. The […]
News in South Africa 19th July: 1. EU carbon levy impact: The European Union’s plan to put a carbon levy on imported goods from outside the bloc is an attempt to shift the burden for climate action to developing countries and may contravene World Trade Organization rules, South Africa said. The so-called carbon border adjustment […]
News in South Africa 14th July: 1. Rand breaks through R18/$: The rand broke through the psychologically important R18/$ level for the first time in just over three months on Thursday, boosted by positive US data, along with hopes that Chinese stimulus will offer support to commodity prices. The local currency reached R17.99/$ in mid-morning […]
News in South Africa 13th July: 1. Stage 8 load shedding warning: South Africa’s sudden return to stage 6 load shedding after about a month of day-time suspensions of the rolling blackouts is not really a surprise, say energy experts – and the risk of things escalating remains a possibility. Eskom was forced to return […]
News in South Africa 20th June: 1. Roads leading to food shortage: Farmers are being driven to desperation over the poor state of roads. Some are now maintaining roads themselves to get their produce to market. AgriSA says poorly maintained roads are just one of the many issues faced by local farmers. This results in […]
News in South Africa 13th June: 1. Rand on the rise: Sentiment towards South Africa is slowly shifting, with markets embracing talks between the government and business leaders to address the energy, logistics and crime crises – while the state puts some substance behind its claims of neutrality towards Russia. According to Investec chief economists […]
