The SA Reserve Bank said on Friday that it will reduce overnight repo auctions to one per day from the two it has held since early March to inject liquidity into the banking system amid the coronavirus pandemic. Image: MARTIN RHODES The SA Reserve Bank said on Friday that it will reduce overnight repo auctions to one per day from the two it has held since early March to inject liquidity into the banking system amid the coronavirus pandemic. “This minor amendment to the liquidity management...

Fast News The rand rallied to its firmest in more than a week on Thursday, breaking through the key 18.00 mark as increased bets of the currency returning to fair value and a new $2.3 trillion stimulus by the US central bank spurred demand. At 1500 GMT the rand was 1.62% firmer at 17.89 per dollar, its best level since April 1 and well below the 18.00/$ technical mark that stands to open up further gains. The greenback sank after the Federal Reserve rolled out a $2.3 trillion plan aimed at...

In a dark ground-floor room in Lagos, dressmaker Kemi Adepoju gazes at a pile of dresses she has made but which cannot be collected due to the lockdown in force to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. “This lockdown came upon us suddenly. I used all my money to buy fabric. If I had known, I would have ... used it to buy food instead,” said the mother-of-two, who runs her business from a room she rents in the Iwaya suburb of Nigeria's largest city. Like millions in Africa, Adepoju works in...

South Africa The rand gave back its early gains on Tuesday, sliding as much as 1% after the central bank delivered a surprise cut to lending rates to address the deepening economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The rand was 0.95% weaker at R18.22 per dollar by 1220 GMT, having dipped as low as R18.37 in the wake of the unexpected 100 basis points cut by the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb). Read: Sarb cuts interest rates by another 100 basis points The central bank had already cut...

South Africa “We forecast real GDP will contract by 2.5% in 2020, as the coronavirus crisis weighs on economic activity,” Moody’s said in a research report dated April 14. Ratings agency Moody’s cut its forecast for South Africa‘s economy to a 2.5% contraction in 2020, citing the impact of a nationwide, five-week shutdown aimed at limiting the spread of the novel cornavirus. In early March, before it downgraded the country’s credit rating to subinvestment status, Moody’s had forecast an...