By Rafiq Raji, PhD
Twitter: @DrRafiqRaji
Global Markets
- Asia stocks hit 6-mth lows, bonds boom amid market shakeout
- MSCI ex-Japan skids for a 7th day in a row
- Flight to safety boosts yen, bonds and gold
- Currency wars feared as China’s yuan breaks past 7 per dlr
- Markets wager on even sharper US monetary easing
Oil Markets
- Oil prices drop as US-China trade war fuels growth concerns
- Brent down 0.8% at $61.39 a barrel (0029GMT)
- WTI down 0.4% at $55.42 a barrel
Precious metals
- Gold gains on weaker dollar, US-China trade tension
- Spot gold up 0.2% at $1,443.56 per ounce (0107GMT)
- US gold futures down 0.1% at $1,455.40
Grains
- Soybeans extend gains despite US-China trade war concerns
- Most active CBOT wheat futures down 1.2% at $4.84-3/4 per bushel (0034GMT)
- Most active corn futures down 0.3% at $4.08-1/4 per bushel
- Most active soy futures down 0.4% at $8.72-1/4 per bushel
- Most active rice futures down 0.3% at $11.67 per hundredweight
Key African events or data releases today
[Posts & comments at my Twitter handle @DrRafiqRaji]
- 6th biennial general assembly of ECOWAS network of electoral commissions in Abuja; Buhari to open
- 2019 AGOA forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast; 3-6 Aug
- South Africa PIC inquiry resumes
- South Africa Standard Bank PMI Jul-19 [prev. 49.7]
- Nigeria Stanbic IBTC Nigeria PMI Jul-19 [prev. 54.8]
Key African events or data releases over the weekend & early a.m today
[Posted & commented on some headlines below at my Twitter handle @DrRafiqRaji]
- Egypt – 17 dead in car explosion in central Cairo – health ministry
- Nigeria security agents arrest activist for calling for revolution
- Sudan factions initial pact ushering in transitional govt
- Zimbabwe increases fuel price again amid shortages
- Sudan’s factions initial a constitutional declaration
- Sudan factions will sign constitutional declaration on Aug 17 – sources
- 2 South Africans killed in Tanzania plane crash – officials
- Libya’s Mitiga airport reopens to air traffic after shelling
- IMF sees Zambia GDP growth declining to 2% this year
- Sudan’s RSF to report to Armed Forces’ General commander – Constitutional Declaration Draft
- Sudan detains 9 soldiers after protesters killed
- Sierra Leone cancels or suspends major mining licenses – FT
- Congo races to contain ebola after gold miner contaminates several in Goma
- South Africa defence firm Denel expects state aid in 3rd quarter
- Tunisia’s interim president extends state of emergency for 1 mth
- South African stocks dragged to near 2-mth low by trade war woes
- Nigeria oil union suspends industrial action planned over Chevron dispute
- 2nd ebola case in Congo’s Goma infected several people – govt
- Zambia will delay sales tax until January, finmin says
- MTN Nigeria asks tribunal to rule on tax treatment of $1 bln fine
- Uganda academic jailed for 18 months for criticising Museveni on Facebook
- Africa Oil – Libya outage may ease Nigerian oversupply
- South Africa defence firm Denel expects state aid in Q3
- African nations, Western partners strive to combat IED threat
- South Africa sugar producer Tongaat to delist from LSE
- Rights activists criticise Uganda for academic’s conviction
- South Africa’s Gold Fields flags lower H1 earnings
- Zimbabwe t-bill auction oversubscribed after 7-yr hiatus
- Dried-up pastures push Kenya’s Maasai to mix cattle with crops
- Kenya shilling strengthens against the dollar
N.B. Full stories of above headlines are available on Reuters
