By Rafiq Raji, PhD
Twitter: @DrRafiqRaji
Global Markets
- Asian shares on defensive, pound at 28-mth low on hard Brexit fears
- Trump pours cold water on Sino-US trade talk hopes
- Fed expected to cut rates by 25 bps, more seen
- Pound pummelled by rising fear of no-deal Brexit
Oil Markets
- Oil prices rise for fifth day after US stocks decline
- Brent up 0.5% at $65.05 a barrel (0044GMT)
- WTI up 0.5% at $58.33
Precious metals
- Gold holds steady as investors await Fed decision
- Spot gold little changed at $1,428.54 per ounce (0114GMT)
- US gold futures steady at $1,441.50 an ounce
Grains
- Chicago corn futures tick up, US crop condition caps gains
- Most active CBOT wheat futures up 0.3% at $4.98-1/2 per bushel (0116GMT)
- Most active corn futures up 0.1% at $4.21-1/2 per bushel
- Most active soy futures unchanged at $8.96-3/4 per bushel
- Most active rice futures nearly unchanged at $12.09 per hundredweight
Key African events or data releases today
[Posts & comments at my Twitter handle @DrRafiqRaji]
- Ivory Coast’s Ouattara in Burkina Faso for joint summit
- Namibia’s Geingob to open “Growth Namibia” summit in Windhoek
- US speaker Pelosi to address Ghana’s parliament
- Liberia “Save The State” protest to resume
- Nigeria manufacturing PMI Jul-19 [prev. 57.4]
- South Africa trade balance Jun-19 [prev. ZAR1.7B]
- Nigeria FX reserves Jul-19 [prev. $45.1B]
- Kenya inflation Jul-19 [fcst. 7.0% yy, prev. 5.7%]
- Uganda inflation Jul-19 [fcst. 3.4% yy, prev. 3.4%]
Key African events or data releases yesterday & early a.m today
[Posted & commented on some headlines below at my Twitter handle @DrRafiqRaji]
- Ivory Coast, Ghana pricing agreement causing a ‘spike in cocoa cost’ – Mondelez
- Second ebola case detected in eastern Congo’s main city
- South African court gives Old Mutual CEO his job back, for now
- Athletics – South Africa’s Semenya out of World Championships after Swiss court reverses reprieve
- South Africa’s Eskom facing “death spiral” – departing CEO
- Senegal to crack down on huge plastic waste by enforcing law
- South Africa’s Old Mutual to appeal court ruling to reinstate CEO
- South African unemployment hits 11-yr high
- South Africa bourse CEO to retire after 8 years at the helm
- Zimbabwe says importing 300MW from regional power pool
- Morocco’s BMCE Bank looks to build on China ties to deliver $11 bln tech city
- South Africa’s rand steadies, stocks down
- Africa Oil – Angolan differentials spike on Asian margins
- Nigeria police to seek to arrest members of banned Shi’ite group
- Saudi Arabia deposits $250 mln into central bank of Sudan
- South Africa’s ANC says central bank nationalisation won’t affect mandate
- Mauritania blogger who faced death penalty freed
- Tanzania police arrest prominent investigative journalist
- South African court rules Old Mutual CEO dismissal unlawful
- South Africa’s Eskom expects loss of around 20 bln rand in 2019/20
- KenGen’s latest geothermal plant adds 79MW to grid
- South Africa’s Eskom annual loss widens to $1.5 bln
- Burundi’s mineral exports overtake tea, coffee in hard currency earnings
- South Africa’s ANC still wants central bank to be nationalised – party official
- Canal Sugar to build grains terminal in Egypt’s Damietta
- South Africa resumes beef exports to China after foot and mouth outbreak
- Uganda shilling seen weaker on interbank demand
- South African unemployment rate rises to 29%
- Kenya shilling weakens to near 5-yr low – traders, Refinitiv data
- South African corruption fighter seen amplifying ANC battles
- Tanzania police arrest prominent investigative journalist
N.B. Full stories of above headlines are available on Reuters
