Cape Times 2024-07-25

Financially constrained consumers have their hopes raised that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will begin cutting interest rates after headline consumer inflation fell to its lowest in six months in June. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that the annual inflation rate eased to 5.1% in June, edging lower from 5.2% in May, mainly driven by the decline in food prices. Though consumer prices remained above the 4.5% midpoint of the SARB’s target range of 3% to 6%, this was the lowest inflation reading since December last year, when it was 5.1% again. Stats SA’s chief director of price statistics, Patrick Kelly, said inflation has remained within the 5% to 6% range for the past 10 months. Kelly said the annual food inflation was the lowest in…

Vodacom Group grew its revenue 1.5% to R36.2 billion in its first quarter to June 30, but revenue growth of its financial service offerings across Africa was much stronger. Group service revenue increased 10% on a normalised basis, above a medium-term target. South Africa service revenue grew 1.8%, supported by an improved prepaid performance, the group said in a trading update yesterday. CEO Shameel Joosub said they celebrated Vodacom’s 30th birthday in the first quarter, having signed up its first customer on June 1, 1994, when the network was switched on in South Africa. “Three decades later, the group serves more than 200 million customers across DRC, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania, a footprint that covers more than half a billion people and is almost 12…

South Africa’s export estimates on oranges for the 2024 season were further adjusted downwards following the Orange Focus Group of the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA) meeting held on Tuesday to review the export estimates on oranges for the 2024 season. Justin Chadwick, chairperson of the CGA, said yesterday that the downward adjustment was made for navels while the category for Valencia oranges received its biggest projection cut of the season, mostly driven by recently reported extreme weather in key growing regions. “The projected number of 15kg cartons of navel oranges expected to be exported is now 21 million, continuing the downward trajectory that was started in May when the season opening estimate of 25.7 million was reduced to 22 million,” Chadwick said. “This latest review brings the…

Eskom is forging ahead with plans to build renewable energy baseload capacity, including nuclear and battery storage, which will replace the coal-fired power stations in Mpumalanga when they get decommissioned in the years to come. Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom’s group executive for generation, said yesterday that the power utility was looking at building small 100MW modular nuclear reactors as part of its build programme at decommissioned coal sites. Nxumalo said this was part of the ministerial determination for the procurement of 2 500MW of new generation capacity from nuclear, which was announced by Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa in December. He said Eskom would need some levels of baseload, in addition to the small reactors, before it goes ahead with the decommissioning of the Komati Power Station in a…

Market investors are trading cautiously before the outcome of US elections and a US rate cut, says Mike Keenan, the chief fixed income and currency strategist at Absa. “We have to keep our thinking caps on because there could be watershed moments that push us in different directions from where we’ve been,” he said in an interview. Investors had been treading water for the past several quarters due to the restrictive global interest rate cycle, characterised by high interest rates “that became very restrictive”. The US was moving closer to a rate cut, which had critical implications for the dollar and commodities. But now US elections could impact the timing of a rate decision. He said that if a Trump administration came into power, it would probably be more supportive…

BHP, Glencore and Anglo American have been trading weaker on the JSE in the past seven and 30 days, and analysts attributed this to the exposure they have to minerals and commodities whose prices are under pressure from geopolitical tensions and shifting investor focus. Anglo American will report interim financials today against indications that it is making progress with the disposal of Amplats and reported plunging earnings in Kumba Iron Ore. The dual-listed company opened yesterday’s trade session on the JSE marginally weaker before overturning the share losses into a 1.70% increase, strengthening to R526.79 a share in the afternoon. However, Anglo American, which is placing increased focus on copper production, has been trading 8.2% and 10.1% weaker in the past seven and 30 days respectively. BHP, which abandoned a…