South African Reserve Bank
Mixed Middle Eastern News But Investors Seeing the Cup Half Full
May 28, 2026
From a military standpoint, it doesn’t look like long-term peace in the Middle East is close at hand. The U.S. and Iran traded military strikes already this week, and the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is being repeatedly violated as well. Nonetheless, reports continue that Iranian and U.S. negotiators are close to a penciling a […] More
Renewed Move Out of Riskier Assets on Mideast Conflict Fears
March 26, 2026
The Middle Eastern war may be about to become much fiercer. President Trump’s plea for Iran to accept a deal continues to be rebuffed, and the red-line demands of each side are miles apart. Meanwhile, Israel claims to have killed another top Iranian official, this time the naval commander Alireza Tangsiri, who has been overseeing […] More
Dollar and 10-Year Treasury Bond Yield Up but Not U.S. Equities in Wake of Warsh Nomination for Next Fed Chairmanship
January 30, 2026
Since markets closed in the U.S. yesterday, the dollar has strengthened by 0.9% against the Japanese yen. 0.5% relative to the euro and sterling, 0.4% versus the Swiss franc and 0.3% against the Canadian dollar. The 10-year Treasury yield is two basis points firmer, and West Texas Intermediate oil has extended Thursday’s rise by another […] More
A Sixth South African Central Bank Interest Rate Cut
November 20, 2025
Based on their improved inflation outlook, policymakers at the South African Reserve Bank unanimously decided to cut their repo rate by a further 25 basis points to 6.75% and bringing the cumulative drop since September 2024 to 150 basis points. “Because of downside surprises [in recent inflation data results], together with a stronger rand, and […] More
25-Basis Point Interest Rate Cut at the South African Reserve Bank
January 30, 2025
South Africa’s policy interest rate, as expected, was cut today. The reduction to 7.50% from 7.75% was by the same increment as the previous and first cut done at November’s policy review. Previously, the interest rate had crested and stayed at 8.0% from June 2023 until this past November. The South African Reserve Bank targets […] More
Third Night of RNC Convention Goes Well, Japanese Ministry of Finance Likely Intervened Again, Chinese Economic Plenum Winds Up and ECB Decision Arrives Momentarily
July 18, 2024
By most accounts, the third night of the Republican Party National Convention in Milwaukee was highly successful. Vance did well, and all in all the likelihood of a Trump victory and Republican control of both congressional houses was enhanced. China’s Third Plenum, which maps out a five-year economic plan, wrapped up. Few details are known […] More
Thumbs Up for U.S. Economy but Thumbs Down for China’s
March 27, 2024
The U.S. stock market near noontime shows a gain so far this Wednesday of about half a percent, and the dollar is buoyant with gains of 0.4% against the Mexican peso, 0.2% versus the Swiss franc, and 0.1% relative to the Chinese yuan and euro. It’s been a rare non-Monday with no U.S. data to […] More
A Parade of Central Bank Interest Rate Decision and A Shift Away from Risky Assets
September 21, 2023
Sovereign debt has been well-bid in the wake of the Fed’s message not to expect interest rates to fall much in 2024. Many other central banks have chimed in with hawkish messages today. Ten-year sovereign debt yields rose overnight by nine basis points in Italy, seven basis points in the U.K., six bps in the […] More
South African Reserve Bank Interest Rate Hike Exceeds Expectations
May 25, 2023
An interest rate increase of 50 basis points to 8.25% decided unanimously today matched the prior hike in March and is the tenth increase since the rate was raised from a pandemic low of 3.50% to 3.75% in November 2021. CPI inflation of 6.8% in April exceeded the 3-6% target range ceiling, and indicators of […] More
50-Basis Point South African Central Bank Rate Hike Surpasses Expectations
March 30, 2023
The previous rate two rate hikes of 50 basis points in November and 25 basis points in January had been smaller than their predecessor moves, and this month’s decision to raise the repo rate resulted from a 3-2 split decision with two members of the South African Reserve Bank‘s Monetary Policy Committee favoring another 25-basis […] More
