09 May.
Nedbank Weekly Economic Monitor: Review of 2 to 6 May and preview of 9 to 13 May 2011.
- The rand was slightly weaker due to a stronger US dollar and weaker international commodity prices.
- Local bonds were little changed ahead of the outcome of this week’s MPC meeting, but equities fell sharply as investors sold resources on weaker commodity prices.
- The local labour market remained weak in the first quarter of 2011, with the unemployment rate rising to 25 % from 24 % and the economy shedding about 14000 jobs over the quarter.
- Seasonal factors pushed new vehicle sales sharply down in April and the Kagiso/BER PMI points to softer trading conditions in the manufacturing sector in April.
- US non-farm payrolls came were above expectations.
Comment
The rand ended last week mixed against most major currencies, weakening against a stronger US dollar but strengthening against the euro and the British pound. The local unit closed at R6,69 against the US dollar from R6,56 at the end of the previous week and at R9,58 and R10,95 against the euro and British pound respectively from R9,71 and R10,96 on the previous Friday.
Bonds were a touch firmer. The yields on the benchmark R157 2015 and the R186 2025 eased to 7,58% and 8,59% respectively on Friday from 7,64% and 8,65% at the end of the previous week. The 3-, 5- and 10-year BESA actuaries drifted down to 7,01%, 7,76% and 8,42% respectively from 7,03%, 7,80% and 8,47%.
Money market rates were also little changed, with the 3-month JIBAR steady at 5,50%, while the 6- and 9-month JIBAR rose slightly to 5,78% and 5,99% respectively from 5,76% and 5,98% at the end of the previous week. The 12-month JIBAR eased to 6,24% from 6,25%.
Local equity prices fell in response to the softer trend on most major global bourses and the lower international commodity prices. The FTSE-JSE all share index fell by 2,9% over the week, closing at 31 878,8 on Friday. Resources came under fire, with basic materials losing 3,9% to close at 30 444 on Friday. Both industrials and financials also weakened, falling by 1,9% and 2,4% respectively to end last week on 32 596,1 and 21 473,2. …
See the full Monitor 9 May 2011.pdf
Discussion
Comments are closed.