Last week, the Israel-Iran war dominated news headlines, as the conflict drove a risk off sentiment in global markets, a trend that is likely to continue following US air strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. Locally, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced that South Africa has successfully completed all 22 action items from its grey listing Action Plan.
Global markets remain fixated on developments around the worsening Israel-Iran conflict. Locally, SA is working towards being removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) ‘grey list’.
Last week, U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers continued to adopt a cautious stance on interest rates amid mixed employment data and tariff concerns. In South Africa, the Reserve Bank’s proposal to lower the inflation target could save billions in debt costs.
Last week, President Donald Trump’s reform agenda suffered a setback after a US trade court ruled that most of the recently introduced global tariffs were illegal. Locally, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) decided to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.25% (prime to 10.75%).
Global financial markets continue to battle with the impact of tariffs, while locally, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana finally delivered the long-awaited budget 3.0.
Prowess CEO and CIO Kelebogile Moloko reflects on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s revised budget announcement and considers it’s broader potential significance for the nation…
Last week, S&P maintained SA’s credit rating, with a positive outlook despite rising unemployment. In the US, April CPI was softer at 2.3% y/y, but tariffs raised inflation concerns among Fed officials. Today, the focus shifts to President Ramaphosa’s meeting with President Trump, as he aims to ease SA-US tensions, and to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, as he tables a third version of the Budget in parliament.
Last week, the US central bank voted unanimously on Wednesday to keep the benchmark federal funds rate in a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, where it’s been since December. Locally, the launch of the second phase of Operation Vulindlela (OV 2.0) took center stage in a relatively quiet domestic data week.
US GDP undershot expectations last week, reflecting the first signs of ripple effects from President Trump’s tariff policy. Locally, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that the third tabling of the Budget would take place on Wednesday 21 May.
Last week, global markets remained sensitive to evolving U.S.-China tariff developments, with both nations exploring selective exemptions amid ongoing trade tensions. Locally, the decision to cancel the proposed VAT increase, combined with inflation dropping to a multi-year low, has raised expectations for potential interest rate relief as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) convenes this week.
