Business News Today
Gold Momentum Continues
The value of the yellow metal as a safe haven asset, has once again proved itself with gold surpassing the $4,000 per ounce mark earlier today. Gold reached its fresh milestone as investors fled to safety amid global economic uncertainties and a dovish Federal Reserve outlook. The US government shutdown, now in its second week, has delayed the release of key economic data, complicating assessments of the world’s largest market’s economic health. Despite this uncertainty, traders are pricing in 25-basis-point rate cuts in October and December. Meanwhile, ongoing political turmoil in France and a recent leadership change in Japan are adding further layers of uncertainty for global markets. Gold has surged by over 54% this year and by more than 11% in the last month.
AgentKit Launched by OpenAI
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has announced the launch of AgentKit, a toolkit for building and deploying AI agents, at the firm’s Dev Day event. “AgentKit is a complete set of building blocks available in the open AI platform designed to help you take agents from prototype to production. It is everything you need to build, deploy, and optimize agent workflows with way less friction,” Altman said. The launch highlights OpenAI’s push to increase developer adoption by making agent building faster and easier. It also signals a competitive move against other AI platforms such as Google’s Gemini, racing to offer integrated tools for building autonomous agents for enterprises that can perform complex tasks, not just respond to prompts.
xAI Secures $20 Billion Raise, Led by Nvidia’s $2 Billion Investment
Elon Musk’s xAI announced a massive $20 billion funding round, with Nvidia contributing $2 billion to fuel AI infrastructure and model development. This infusion values xAI at over $100 billion, accelerating competition with OpenAI and Google in generative AI. Funds will expand data centers and talent acquisition, amid booming AI investments. The deal underscores Nvidia’s dual role as supplier and investor in the AI ecosystem. As global AI spending surges, xAI’s raise signals heightened innovation race, potentially reshaping enterprise tools and cloud services while raising questions on energy demands and ethical AI deployment.
Nigeria Prepares for Key T-Bills Auction on October 8
The Central Bank of Nigeria schedules its first quarterly Treasury Bills auction for October 8, offering 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day tenors amid efforts to manage liquidity and debt servicing. Yields may ease slightly on improved oil revenues, but inflation pressures linger. Investors eye CBN’s hawkish stance post-MPR hike. This PMA, targeting N100 billion, signals fiscal consolidation under Tinubu’s reforms, potentially stabilizing the naira. Success could lower borrowing costs, supporting infrastructure amid global rate uncertainties.
Breaking News Shorts:
- July Ndlovu, CEO of Thungela Resources, has been inducted into the Joburg Indaba South African Mining Hall of Fame. The announcement was made at the annual Joburg Indaba Gala Dinner last night, which precedes the main summit held on 8–9 October at the Inanda Club, Johannesburg.
- The BSE Sensex index rose 207 points, or 0.3%, to 82,134 in early trade today in India, marking its fifth consecutive session of gains. The rally was supported by optimism ahead of the quarterly earnings season. Most sectors traded in the green, led by technology and consumer durables
- The World Bank raised its 2025 growth forecast for China to 4.8% from an earlier estimate of 4.0%, but warned that momentum is likely to slow in 2026 due to low consumer and business confidence and weak new export orders. In its biannual East Asia and Pacific economic outlook on Tuesday.
- Kenya has restructured $3.5 billion in dollar-denominated loans from China into yuan, aiming to slash interest expenses by up to 2% annually amid forex strains. The deal, via Exim Bank, aligns with debt sustainability goals under IMF programs and reduces exposure to USD volatility.
- Angola has returned to international capital markets with a dual-tranche Eurobond issue, making its first entry into international bond markets since 2022. Angola is offering five-year and 10-year dollar bonds maturing in January 2031 and October 2035 respectively, with initial price thoughts of around 9.75% and 10.50%.
Markets by Numbers
Currency markets today indicate the US dollar has gained further ground today, with the Euro trading against the US dollar at 1.16149 while the Pound is trading at 1.33903 to the US dollar. The Yen is currently trading at 152.41 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) is currently at R17.25 to the US dollar.
Commodities:
- Gold futures prices have surged again today, hitting a new high of over $4030 at this point today, and are currently trading around $4031.00 per ounce.
- Copper prices are trading upwards, with prices currently at $5.591
- Silver futures prices are trending upwards today, and is currently trading around $4.8660
- Platinum futures are trading higher today, and are currently trading at $1659.10, While Palladium prices are also trading higher this morning and currently at $1393.00
- Brent crude oil prices are trending higher this morning, and currently at $65.98 with WTI trading at $62.31
- Cocoa futures continue lower, and are currently trading around $6179.00 per ton.
- Coffee futures have fallen by over -1% today, and are currently at $375.10
Crypto Currencies:
- Bitcoin prices are slightly lower today and currently trading at $121296
- Ether prices are trending higher today and are currently trading around the $4432.71 mark
- $Trumpcoin is trending higher today, and currently trading around $7.55
(All prices quoted at approximately 08H00 Central African Time)
Other Headline News in Africa Today
Ramaphosa on Trade Missions to Ireland and Belgium
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is embarking on working visits to Ireland starting today. and Belgium. The South African President is seeking to enhance bilateral trade and investment amidst ongoing relationship strain with the US administration. The agenda for the visits includes the development of green energy, digital economy, and agri-processing collaborations, and will be targeting €5 billion in deals. These trips follow G20 commitments, addressing post-election reforms to attract FDI. Amid rand volatility, focus is on job-creating ventures. Success could diversify exports beyond commodities, strengthening SA’s global position while navigating EU regulatory alignments.
