Markets WRAP: Rand closes at R14.74/$

The rand closed at R14.7386/$. Here's how the day wrapped up.

USDZAR 14.7386

EURUSD 1.1045

EURZAR 16.2706

GBPUSD 1.2309

GBPZAR 18.1326

AUDZAR 10.1012

CADZAR 11.1812

CNYZAR 2.0695

ZARJPY 7.2457

CHFZAR 14.9298

R186 8.15%

US 10 Year 1.56%

JSE 0.34%

FTSE 0.02%

S&P 500 0.24%

Brought to you by TreasuryONE

Oil drops as economic gloom dents forecasts for demand growth

Grant Smith and Sharon Cho, Bloomberg

Oil fell as trade tensions between the US and China worsened the outlook for global demand growth. Futures dropped 2.2% in New York on Friday, paring their gain for the week.

Prices had touched a one-month high on Thursday after American inventories slid by 4.77 million barrels, more than twice what analysts had expected. Yet despite the prospect of easing trade tensions as the US and China plan face-to-face negotiations next month, Commerzbank AG and UBS Group AG said on Friday that their expectations for prices had weakened because of the economic gloom.

“As much as the US rebalancing process is gaining traction, there is still no getting away from lingering demand-side concerns,” said Stephen Brennock, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates Ltd. in London.

Crude has been volatile in recent weeks as the tit-for-tat tariff war between the world’s top two economies worsened, fuelling concerns oil demand may be dented further.

Commerzbank cut its Brent crude forecasts by $5 a barrel, predicting that the grade will average $60 through to the end of next year, while UBS said the “deteriorating” outlook would pressure the benchmark down to $55.

Altron suspends three execs amid 'irregularities'

The board of Altron advised shareholders on Friday that three senior executives of its subsidiary Altron Nexus have been placed on pre-cautionary suspension. This follows an investigation that has revealed potential internal irregularities.

Sasol will again be delaying the publication of its financial results for the year ended June 30 after its board asked for additional time to investigate cost changes at its Lake Charles Chemicals Project in the US. 

The SA-headquartered petrochemical group now hopes to release the results by no later than October 31. 

Adam Haigh, Bloomberg 

US and European stock futures were little changed ahead of Friday’s American employment report and remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Treasuries saw modest declines after yesterday’s sharp sell-off.

Asian stocks saw modest gains Friday, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index headed for its biggest weekly advance since June. Equities have been boosted by optimism about US-China trade talks and receding tail risks from everything from a hard Brexit and a crackdown in Hong Kong to an American recession.

Treasury yields ticker higher following a jump Thursday spurred by strong private payrolls data, better-than-expected service-sector data and a deluge of corporate-bond sales.

Toyota CEO: SA car industry could get R60 billion boost in next 5 years

As much as R60 billion could be invested in the South African vehicle and component manufacturing industries in the next five years, according to Andrew Kirby, CEO of Toyota South Africa and president of National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA).

In a recent speech at the annual NAAMSA Conference in Kyalami, Kirby said the seven largest vehicle manufacturers are considering  R40 billion in direct investments, with an additional R20 billion earmarked for component making.