Business

5 things you need to know in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·22 Jun 2016

Here’s what is happening in the country:

• The Tshwane protests have highlighted a deep divide within the ANC, analysts have said, and paint an ugly picture of what lies ahead for the August local elections. As ANC members take to the streets to riot and burn over the ANC mayoral candidate for the party, some analysts say that things could be worse if an opposition party wins the metro. ANC members on the streets have threatened to vote for another party if the ANC doesn’t change its candidate.

• South Africa is facing a technical recession, as indicators point to a second quarter of contraction for 2016. Consumer inflation data for May 2016 is expected to be released by Stats SA today, with economists predicting the figure to be above the 6% ceiling set by government. April inflation was at 6.2%, while the worst rate this year was reached in January, when inflation hit 7%.

• South Africa’s rand rose to its firmest in seven weeks on Tuesday, riding a wave of renewed global risk appetite as investors bet that Britons will vote to stay in the European Union Stocks snapped three days of gains as mining firms weighed on the bourse. On Wednesday the rand was trading at R14.73 to the dollar, R21.62 to the pound and R16.58 to the euro.

• In global news: Asian stocks edged up on Wednesday as nervous investors counted down to Britain’s make-or-break European Union referendum, while Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s cautious tone on future rate hikes added to a subdued mood in markets. US stocks rose on Tuesday, led by gains in technology shares.

• Oil prices rose in early Asian trading on Wednesday, with US crude joining Brent above $50 a barrel after data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed a larger than expected draw on stocks.

In other news: Former SABC CEO and current head of the digital migration project, Solly Mokoetle is missing, and his family is appealing to the public for information. He was last seen at his home in Umhlanga on 17 June, 2016. According to his wife, he had met someone at his gate at 10pm, and never returned home.