Business & Tech News
Gold rises amidst market changes:
Africa produces just over 22% of global gold production and will awake today with gold prices having hit $2,640 per ounce in early trade this morning. This was driven partly by its safe-haven appeal amid renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, as well as the renewed gold purchasing by China. On Sunday (8 Dec). Rebel forces in Syria have ousted President Bashar al-Assad, marking an end to his family’s 50-year rule and increasing concerns about increased instability in the region. Additionally, China’s central bank resumed buying gold for its reserves in November after a six-month pause, providing further support for gold prices. Friday’s US jobs report also pointed to easing in labour market conditions, allowing the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again with markets now pricing in an 83% chance of a 25bps cut at the Fed’s final meeting of the year. This would reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-paying assets such as gold, making it more attractive to buyers.
Eskom Reaches 250 day – Outage Free Milestone:
The South African Power production utility Eskom, announced it had reached 250 days of uninterrupted power supply yesterday (8 Dec), after having had years of serious power outages that had severely damaged economic growth and resulted in a massive upsurge in solar and other alternative power generation in the country. The added benefit to the fiscal is that they have saved almost R17 Billion ($943 Million) in diesel costs compared to the previous year, due to the power company not having to rely on its back-up diesel generators to support the national energy grid. The power utility said, that as industry begins to shut down for the December holidays, it will be gradually increasing its maintenance activities to further improve the reliability of its generation fleet. Eskom released a statement where it claimed that “Over the past week, the average total unplanned outages have been at 11 038MW, a significant improvement from the 14 475MW recorded during the same period last year”.
First Woman CEO for IDC:
The South African Industrial Corporation (IDC), announced the appointment of Mmakgoshi Lekhethe, as its first female CEO on Sunday (8 Dec). Lekhethe who first joined the Treasury in 1996, is currently the Deputy Director-General of Asset and Liability Management at the National Treasury. The Chairperson of the IDC’s Board of Directors, Busi Mabuza, welcomed the appointment, while Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, commented on her appointment that, “Ms Lekhethe’s considerable local and international experience in financial markets and economic policy puts her in good stead to lead the IDC’s push to reinvigorate South Africa’s industrial policy agenda at time when economy needs it most. I wish her well on this new journey.”
Market News
Markets: Indices in the US, closed slightly up on Friday with the NASDAQ closing up by -0,92%, the S&P 500 was marginally up by 0,25% and the Dow Jones closing slightly down by -0,28%.
Asian markets this morning have been trending upwards with the Nikkei currently up by 0,11% and is at 39135 currently, while the Hang Seng is up by 1,56% and is at 19865 currently.
Currencies: The US Dollar is currently trading at 1.054 against the Euro, at 1,272 against the Pound, and at 150.17 against the Yen. The Rand has gained against the Dollar with the currency currently trading at R18.029 to the US dollar and may well challenge the R18.00 level this week.
Commodities:
- Gold is trading stronger this morning and is currently at $2,641.14 per ounce
- Platinum prices currently trading at $933.50 and with Palladium prices also lower today and at $966.50 currently
- Brent crude is currently trading slightly lower today and is at $71.50 with WTI also trading lower at $67.58 currently.
- Cocoa prices have gained further momentum this morning, up 1,58% in early trade this morning and is trading over the 8100 mark at 8130 British pounds per ton currently
- Coffee prices have gained over 2% in early trade today, and is currently trading at $3.12
Crypto Currencies
- Bitcoin briefly breeched the $100 000 level this morning but has slipped back below the $100 000 level and is currently trading at $99,103
- Ether is down by just over 2% today and trading at $3921.09 currently
(All prices quoted at approximately 08H35 – Central African Time)
Other News in Africa Today
Ghana Elects Previous President Again:
In a clear victory at the polls this weekend, former President John Dramani Mahama beat Ghana’s vice president and ruling party candidate, Mahamudu Bawumia, who has conceded defeat to Mahama on Sunday. The West African nation’s tightly contested presidential election sees Mahama, 65, who was previously president from 2012-2017, return to power on the popular vote of many younger people who are hoping Mahama can turn around the poor economic situation in the country. Ahead of the official announcement, Bawumia told reporters that he respects the decision of Ghanaians to vote for change. “I’ve just called His Excellency John Mahama to congratulate him as president-elect of the Republic of Ghana,” he said. The election was held against the backdrop of the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation and seen as a litmus test for democracy in a region shaken by extremist violence and coups.
SAA Flights Back on Schedule:
South African Airways announced yesterday that it expected all flights to return to normal schedules, after disruptions last week, caused by a pilot work strike. The State owned airline had over 100 pilots embark on an industrial action, demanding higher wages. The Airline said it had reached an agreement to a 9,47% salary increase. Interim SAA Chief Executive, John Lamola, said: “As part of the agreement that broke the deadlock in wage negotiations, engagements on a continuous enterprise improvement programme will continue over the next eight weeks. We are committed to implementing work-life concessions that should enhance the productivity of our world-acclaimed pilots.”
