By Rafiq Raji, PhD
Twitter: @DrRafiqRaji, @macroafrica
Global Markets
- Asian shares mostly flat, Japan hurt by Sino-US tensions
- Asia shares flat, Nikkei loses 0.5%
- China markets open only on Monday this week
Oil Markets
- Oil prices climb as positive China factory data eases demand concerns
- Brent up 9 cents at $62 a barrel (0300GMT)
- WTI up 13 cents at $56.04 a barrel
Precious metals
- Gold prices dip as fears of widening trade war ease
- Spot gold down 0.2% at $1,494.30/oz. (0104GMT)
- US gold futures down 0.2% at $1,503.3/oz.
Grains
- Soybeans rebound from 1-wk low, USDA stocks report eyed
- Wheat futures up 0.3% at $4.88-3/4 per bushel (0133GMT)
- Corn futures up 0.3% at $3.72-1/2 per bushel
- Soy futures up 0.3% at $8.85-1/4 per bushel
- Rice futures down 0.9% at $12.05 per hundredweight
Key African events or data releases today
[Posts & comments at my Twitter handle @DrRafiqRaji]
- South Africa PSCE Aug-19 [fcst. 5.8% yy, prev. 7.2%]
- South Africa M3 Aug-19 [fcst. 8.4% yy, prev. 8.3%]
- Kenya GDP Q2-19 [fcst. 6.1% yy, prev. 5.6%]
- Kenya CPI Sep-19 [fcst. 4.0% yy, prev. 5.0%]
- Uganda CPI Sep-19 [fcst. 1.6% yy, prev. 2.1%]
- South Africa state capture inquiry resumes
Key African events or data releases over the weekend & early a.m today
[Posted & commented on some headlines below at my Twitter handle @DrRafiqRaji]
- Senegal president pardons political rival Khalifa Sall
- Morocco king ill, forced to miss Chirac funeral service
- Algeria army will not back any candidate in presidential election
- Supercars seized from Equatorial Guinea vice president net $27 mln at auction
- UK’s Prince Harry visits Malawi college
- Prominent Egyptian activist arrested as crackdown continues
- Congo GDP growth to slow slightly to 5.4% in 2020 – govt statement
- Egypt’s currency strengthens after c.bank interest rate cut
- Egypt posts third winning session while other markets mixed
- Victims of north Nigerian institution share stories of terror
- Canadian tourist dies in paragliding accident in Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro
- Italy investigates wife of Eni’s CEO in Congo graft probe – document
- Boat with over 50 passengers capsizes off Libyan coast – UN
- Nigerian authorities seek families of inmates from purported school after raid
- Zimbabwe’s Mugabe buried in home village, ending an era
- Prince Harry’s wife Meghan honours murdered South African student
- 7 drown after boat capsizes off Morocco’s Atlantic coast
- Kenya betting firm SportPesa halts operations due to tax hike
- Supercars of Obiang son on the block at Swiss auction
- US travel warning adds to pressure on Tanzania over suspected ebola cases
- UK’s Prince Harry to meet Angolan president
- After US talks, Sudan sees path to lifting sanctions soon
- Egypt’s security forces move to block anti-Sisi protests
- Militants kill 8 in deadly ambush in Egypt’s Sinai – sources
- Mozambique targets $880 mln in tax from Anadarko takeover – report
- US air strike kills 17 in southern Libya
- Zambia scraps sales tax plan in concession to miners
- Algerians tired of ruling cadre march as ex-premiers bid for presidency
- Africa Oil – Cosco sanctions stoke market uncertainty
- 3 killed in UN helicopter crash in CAR
- Tunisia Islamists pivot from consensus politics as election looms
- Zambia cancels licence of Vodafone franchise holder over poor capacity
- UN rights envoy says Zimbabwe political, economic situation deteriorating
- Lawlessness double displaced from NW Nigeria to 40,000 – UNHCR
- Overrun by militia, Canadian miner Banro suspends Congo gold operations
- Prince Harry follws in mother Diana’s footsteps on visit to Angola
- Nigeria fights back, but threat of $9 bln penalty looms
- Zambia scraps plan to replace VAT sales tax
- Rwanda receives first group of refugees from Libya, including baby born in detention
- Kenya central allows merger of lenders NIC and CBA Group
- Hundreds of captives, many boys in chains, freed in Nigeria
- Kenya shilling steady, importer demand slows
- Handbag designer Marks appointed US ambassador to South Africa
- Uganda shilling flat as thin volumes, liquidity mop-up offer support
- Egypt tightens security after call for repeat protests
N.B. Full stories of above headlines are available on Reuters
