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