Rand's speedy recovery rally caught some traders by surprise Mon, 01 Jun 2020 08:05:16 +0200
The rand's rapid turnaround from April's record low has already burnt some traders' fingers.
The New York Stock Exchange, the symbolic heart of Wall Street, reopened its floor Tuesday after a two-month closure due to the coronavirus, with traders donning masks and separated by plexiglas.
Global stock markets climbed Monday, buoyed by the prospect of further easing of coronavirus lockdowns despite sharp increases in case rates in some countries such as Brazil.
The rand, which was seen heading past R20 to the US dollar, has strengthened in recent weeks as the world's leading economies ease lockdown restrictions.
The rand’s comeback seems to be gathering momentum.
For the world’s most important commodity, there’s never been a month like it.
The World Platinum Investment Council says a surplus in the global platinum market is lower than feared.
The price of oil rose as producers in the US and elsewhere continued to cut activity.
Bullion has surged 16% this year as the spread of the virus curbed economic growth, roiled markets, and prompted vast amounts of stimulus to be unleashed by governments and central banks.
Arab stock markets plunged almost a quarter in value in the first three months of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and the collapse in oil prices, a UN agency said Thursday.
Saudi Arabia said Monday it had asked oil giant Aramco to cut its output by an additional one million barrels per day from June, to support prices that have crashed during the coronavirus crisis.
Oil pared last week’s gain as fears of a potential resurgence in global coronavirus cases countered tentative signs of a demand recovery.
The rand strengthened against the greenback as it peaked at a session high of R18.30 before it was recorded trading 1.41% firmer at R18.32/$ at 17.00
Oil headed for its first back-to-back weekly gain since February as output cuts from the biggest producers and a nascent recovery in demand began to rebalance a market awash with crude.
Still, there was disappointment in terms of economic data following the release of the SACCI Business Confidence index data for April which came in at 77.8, compared to a forecast of 89.2.
On the currency market, the rand traded softer against the greenback as it slipped to a session low of R18.77/$.
Oil was headed for the longest run of daily gains in more than nine months on signs the worst of the supply glut may be over as production cuts start to take effect.
Deep losses were recorded across most European benchmarks except the FTSE 100 which managed to trade relatively flat on the day.
Swiss refiner Valcambi SA tried for five straight days last month to move a shipment of gold out of Hong Kong. Twice the metal was packed carefully onto a plane, only to be offloaded again.
Stock markets plunged on Thursday after economic growth data confirmed fears of Covid-19's bruising impact on the world economy.