By Rafiq Raji, PhD
Twitter: @DrRafiqRaji

Global Markets

• Asia shares trapped in a trade maze, oil nurses losses
• Most Asian stock markets ease, along with S&P futures
• Brent licks wounds after suffering sharpest drop in 7 wks
• US treasury yields fall further, flatten curve
• Next major event is minutes of Fed’s last meeting

Oil Markets

• Oil prices steady after 2-day drop as growth concerns weigh
• Brent up little changed at $60.93 a barrel (0252GMT)
• WTI up 0.2% at $55.32 a barrel

Precious metals

• Gold rises as Sino-US trade, Hong Kong tensions escalate
• Spot gold up 0.2% at $1,474.42/oz. (0144GMT)
• US gold futures little changed at $1,474.80/oz.

Grains

• Wheat firms for third session on US crop prospects
• Wheat futures up 0.2% at $5.13-1/4 a bushel (0158GMT)
• Soybean futures up 0.3% at $9.14 a bushel
• Corn futures unchanged at $3.70 a bushel

Key African events or data releases today
[Posts & comments at my Twitter handle @DrRafiqRaji]

• South Africa inflation Oct-19 [fcst. 3.9% yy, prev. 4.1%]
• Zambia interest rate [fcst. 10.25%, prev. 10.25%]

Key African events or data releases yesterday & early a.m today
[Posted & commented on some headlines below at my Twitter handle @DrRafiqRaji]

• Homes, land destroyed as desperate Zimbabweans turn to illegal gold mining
• Ethiopia’s Sidama vote on autonomy in latest test for restive regions
• Ghana joins airline competition fray with Dubai jet order
• Death toll in Mali attack rises to 30 soldiers – army
• Congo court hands life sentence to warlord for murder, sexual violence
• Algeria’s Sonatrach renews gas export deal with France’s Engie
• Africa Oil – Spot trade thin as programmes, allocations awaited
• Morocco’s king appoints committee chief to fight poverty and inequality
• Burkina Faso accuses Mali of unauthorised military operation on its soil
• Strike-hit South African Airways says only a deal with unions will end crisis
• South Africa’s RMB Holdings to give shareholders its $8.8 bln FirstRand stake
• South Africa’s Gordhan says govt committed to saving SAA but not with money
• South Africa’s rand steady as investors eye Fed, stocks lifted by trade deal optimism
• Jihadist violence putting “generation at risk” in Africa’s Sahel – WFP
• Algerian court jails protesters over election
• South Africa’s SAA says some employees returning to work despite strike
• China says Zimbabwe is understating financial support
• Kenya maps first ‘Climate Atlas’ to battle future food losses
• Ghana and Boeing sign provisional order for 3 787 Dreamliners at Dubai Airshow
• East Libyan forces target munitions in Misrata with air strikes
• Air Senegal signs MoU for 8 Airbus A220 aircraft
• Kenya shilling gains against the dollar

N.B. Full stories of above headlines are available on Reuters