logo
South African rand weakens as manufacturing beat fails to offset tariff nerves

South African rand weakens as manufacturing beat fails to offset tariff nerves

Reuters2 days ago
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The South African rand was weaker on Monday as better-than-expected domestic manufacturing data failed to offset trade concerns, with the country scrambling to secure a lower tariff rate on its exports to the United States.
U.S. imports from South Africa face a 30% duty, the highest rate among sub-Saharan African countries, but President Cyril Ramaphosa's office said last week he had spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump and that the two countries' trade negotiating teams would hold more detailed talks.
At 1235 GMT, the rand traded at 17.7825 against the dollar , about 0.2% weaker than Friday's close.
South Africa's manufacturing output rose 1.9% year on year in June, after rising by a revised 0.7% in May, statistics agency data showed on Monday.
Analysts polled by Reuters and Nedbank economists expected production to have risen 1% and 0.8%, respectively.
This week's releases also include mining output (ZAMNG=ECI), opens new tab and unemployment figures (ZAUNR=ECI), opens new tab on Tuesday and retail sales data (ZARET=ECI), opens new tab on Wednesday.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 index (.JTOPI), opens new tab was last down 0.5%.
South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was weak, as the yield rose two basis points to 9.65%.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US selects 11 projects for program to fast-track small nuclear test reactors
US selects 11 projects for program to fast-track small nuclear test reactors

Reuters

timea few seconds ago

  • Reuters

US selects 11 projects for program to fast-track small nuclear test reactors

WASHINGTON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy said on Tuesday it has made an initial selection of 11 projects for a pilot program seeking to develop high-tech test nuclear reactors and get at least three of them to begin operating in less than a year. As artificial intelligence and data centers boost power demand, the U.S. is aiming to develop small nuclear reactors which developers say will be cheaper to build per Megawatt of output than today's large reactors because the parts could be replicated in factories. The department's move comes after President Donald Trump issued executive orders in May seeking to speed permitting of nuclear reactors and reform the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an independent agency. The orders allow the Energy Department to authorize the test reactors, without the NRC. 'President Trump's Reactor Pilot Program is a call to action,' said James Danly, deputy energy secretary. 'These companies aim to all safely achieve criticality by Independence Day, and DOE will do everything we can to support their efforts.' COMPANIES SELECTED The department selected the following companies: Aalo Atomics., Antares Nuclear, Atomic Alchemy, Deep Fission Inc., Last Energy., Oklo (OKLO.N), opens new tab , Natura Resources LLC, Radiant Energy, Terrestrial Energy, and Valar Atomics. The department said each company will be responsible for all costs associated with designing, manufacturing, constructing, and decommissioning their test reactors. Small modular and so-called "advanced" nuclear reactors have been talked about in the U.S. for years, but the only ones operating are in China and Russia. Hurdles include getting permits for plants that generate electricity for the grid, developing commercial levels of a new fuel some of the reactors plan to use called high-assay low-enriched uranium, and developing factories for the reactors when none of the plants are yet operating. (This story has been corrected to say 11 projects, not companies, in the headline and paragraph 1)

Crypto exchange Bullish's shares set to open over 75% above IPO price in debut
Crypto exchange Bullish's shares set to open over 75% above IPO price in debut

Reuters

timea few seconds ago

  • Reuters

Crypto exchange Bullish's shares set to open over 75% above IPO price in debut

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Bullish's (BLSH.N), opens new tab shares were indicated to open more than 75% above their initial public offering price on Wednesday, signaling growing investor confidence in the sector and boosting prospects for future U.S. listings by other digital asset firms. If the billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel-backed crypto exchange starts to trade at the last indicated range of $60 to $65 on the NYSE, it could potentially value the company at more than $9.5 billion. Bullish raised $1.11 billion in an IPO priced at $37 apiece, valuing it at $5.4 billion and marking another sign of mainstream adoption in a sector that recently topped $4 trillion. "Bullish came out with an attractive initial valuation, and investors responded by aggressively bidding it up during the pre-IPO process," said Jeff Zell, senior research analyst at IPO Boutique. A string of regulatory wins under a pro-crypto White House, corporate treasury adoption, and ETF inflows have prompted investors to embrace the once-scorned digital asset class, driving bellwether bitcoin to record highs. Several crypto firms, including exchange Gemini and asset manager Grayscale, have also confidentially filed to go public. "Crypto is becoming one of the big pillars of the IPO market, with more deals expected not only via IPO but also through de-SPAC transactions," IPOX CEO Josef Schuster said, referring to take-public blank-check mergers that are frequently used by crypto firms. Bullish, which acquired cryptocurrency website CoinDesk in 2023, plans to convert a significant portion of the IPO proceeds to stablecoins — a slice of the crypto space that has boomed since U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Genius Act, creating a regulatory regime for the dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies. Bullish's debut marks a rare U.S. listing by a crypto exchange, joining larger retail-focused rival Coinbase (COIN.O), opens new tab, which became the first crypto player to be included in the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab index in May. Founded in 2020, Bullish targets institutional clients whose crypto holdings are expected to rise as a new White House order aims to allow alternative investments like crypto in 401(k) retirement plans. "A pure institutional strategy positions Bullish for more stable, recurring revenue than exchanges reliant on retail volumes, which tend to be cyclical and sentiment-driven," said Michael Hall, co-chief investment officer and founding partner at Nickel Digital Asset Management. Bullish CEO Tom Farley had previously worked as the president of NYSE. "For a sector still overcoming reputational headwinds, that kind of leadership experience can be a differentiator in securing institutional mandates," Hall said.

Goldman economist, uncowed by Trump attack, plans to 'keep doing' as before
Goldman economist, uncowed by Trump attack, plans to 'keep doing' as before

Reuters

timea few seconds ago

  • Reuters

Goldman economist, uncowed by Trump attack, plans to 'keep doing' as before

Aug 13 (Reuters) - A top economist for Goldman Sachs on Wednesday signaled no plans to change how his team conducts and publishes its research after President Donald Trump lashed out at the Wall Street firm and its chief executive because of the research team's estimate that American consumers would bear the brunt of the costs of Trump's tariffs. Chief U.S. Economist David Mericle's defense of his team's work came a day after Trump in a social media post said Goldman Chief Executive David Solomon should "not bother running a major financial institution" and lambasted the bank's economics research. The report Trump attacked, published August 10, estimated that U.S. consumers so far have borne less than a quarter of the cost of Trump's tariffs but that share would rise to two-thirds if the tariffs play out in the same way they had previously. Trump, by contrast, insists that foreign companies and governments are absorbing the cost of tariffs that now average the highest in about a century, and that American households are unscathed. He attacked Goldman and its economists for making "a bad prediction." Asked in a CNBC interview whether Trump's broadside had had a chilling effect on his team's work, Mericle said: "We're just trying to do the best economic forecast that we can for our clients, and we publish research reports like the one that we published over the weekend to inform those views. And we'll keep doing that."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store