By Rafiq Raji, PhD
Twitter: @DrRafiqRaji, @macroafrica
Global Markets
- Asia stocks touch 4-mth top on dogged optimism
- Asia ex-Japan nudges to highest since early March
- Market assumes economies to re-open even as virus rages
- Dollar remains inversely correlated to risk
- Gold near 7-1/2-yr peak, oil off a 4-mth top
Oil Markets
- Oil edges lower as US stockpiles grow more than expected
- Brent down 2 cents at $42.61 a barrel (0045GMT)
- WTI down 4 cents at $40.33
Precious metals
- Gold hovers near 8-yr high as second coronavirus wave fears mount
- Spot gold up 0.2% at $1,769.76/oz. (0234GMT)
- US gold futures up 0.2% at $1,785.80/oz.
Grains
- Corn falls for 3rd session on US weather; wheat climbs
- Corn futures down 0.2% at $3.24-1/2 a bushel (0007GMT)
- Wheat up 0.2% at $4.92 a bushel
- Soybeans flat at $8.75 a bushel
Key African events or data releases today
[Posts & comments at my Twitter handles @DrRafiqRaji, @macroafrica]
- South Africa’s Mboweni delivers supplementary covid-19 budget speech
- Africa CDC webinar on covid-19 vaccine; Ramaphosa et al. to participate
- Corporate Council on Africa leaders forum; Kagame, Kenyatta, Nyusi & Akufo-Addo key speakers
- South Africa inflation Apr-20 [fcst. 4.1% yy, prev. 4.1%]
- Vote-counting of Malawi presidential poll rerun starts
- South Africa SACCI business confidence May-20 [prev. 77.8]
- Key African countries on lockdown or restricted; subdued economic activity
- Covid-19 updates by authorities across the continent
Key African events or data releases yesterday & early a.m today
- IMF, Sudan reach agreement on macroeconomic policies structural reforms
- Algeria names new energy and finance ministers – state TV
- South Africa’s Aspen could supply 10 mln dexamethasone pills in covid-19 crisis
- Nigeria’s Buhari sees threat to West African currency plan
- Tanzania arrests opposition party leader, revokes newspaper licence
- Zimbabwe dollar falls at first weekly forex auction
- South Africa trade union takes state arms firm to court over wage payments
- Africa Oil – Nigeria raises term prices, trims Qua loadings
- UK Supreme Court hears Nigeria communities’ case against Shell
- South Africa sees investors putting billions into infrastructure drive
- World Bank lends Morocco $500 mln to improve access to online finance
- South Africa rand firmer as market awaits budget
- South Africa’s Comair administrators to present restructuring plan by June 30
- Egypt lifts night curfew, eases coronavirus restrictions from Saturday
- Libya and foreign forces mobilise at Sirte, Arab ministers urge calm
- South Africa unemployment rate hit record high, rises to 30.1% in Q1, before virus
- South Africa receives unsolicited proposals for new national airline
- Zambia approves $438 mln covid-19 economic stimulus package
- South Africa’s Comair gets cash offer, needs a week to secure funding, say administrators
- Former South Africa president Zuma appears in court for resumed graft trial
- Congo officials vow to tackle child labour at mines as virus threatens spike
- Kenya shilling holds steady against the dollar
- Uganda shilling weakens slightly on uptick in importer demand
- Zimbabwe’s Centragrid to scale up solar output
N.B. Full stories of above headlines are available on Reuters
