Morning NOTE

GOOD MORNING

The ZAR recovered as risk appetite returned to markets across the world.

• USDZAR 16.0300
• EURZAR 16.7500
• GBPZAR 19.8000

SOUTH AFRICA   

• Eskom says the exemption from load-shedding for the eThekwini municipality, which was hit by devastating floods in April, could soon change as this was under review.
  • “The eThekwini municipality has almost recovered its operations in terms of distribution in the regions affected by the floods.”
  • ‘It is not being loadshed but this will change soon and the teams, Eskom and eThekwini municipality are reviewing the situation,” said Eskom. source : Business day
  • Eskom is increasing power cuts to prevent a total collapse of the grid as issues grow from lack of imports to breakdowns at its coal-fired plants.
• Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has defended the decision to privatise the struggling national carrier.
  • Gordhan  previously described SAA as a fiscal drain costing government more than R49 billion in bailouts since 2006 and failing to make a profit since 2011.
  • The sale of a 51% stake in South African Airways (SAA) has raised many eyebrows and earned a threat of possible legal action from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). EWN

• More from Gordhan; Public Enterprises Minister Gordhan has called for the export of scrap metal to be banned.

  • He  said that this would ensure that there was no market for the copper, rail and other infrastructure that gets stolen and sold across the country.
  • “There is absolutely no doubt that copper theft and rail theft and other infrastructure theft and vandalism is having a major and disastrous effect on the efficiency of logistics in South Africa,” Minister Gordhan said.
  • Gordhan has called for strong action to curb the scourge. EWN

Stocks:

• US stock futures edged higher on Tuesday following another volatile session on Wall Street.
• Investors remain concerned about rising interest rates, high inflation and the prospect of a global economic slowdown continued to weigh on sentiment.
• Futures contracts tied to the three major indexes were all trading in positive territory.
• In regular trading on Monday, the Dow eked out a 0.08% gain ,while both the SP500 and Nasdaq declined.

• US 10 Year Bond Yield was 2.92% traded higher.
• Markets continue to price in aggressive near-term hikes meant to curb surging inflation and may tilt the economy towards a recession.
• Latest data showed that the headline CPI in the US held close to a 40-year high at 8.3% in April, while the core CPI also came in above expectations at 6.2%.
• The data stoking worries that elevated prices may persist and fuelling concerns about faster interest rate hikes. Source : US treasury

• The Dow added 26 points to 32,223
• The SP500 fell 15 points to 4,008
• The Nasdaq  fell 142 to 11,662

• image : Trading economics

• Asian markets higher on the back of a rally on Wallstreet.
  • Stocks rebounding after what has been a torrid time for markets as Risk assets declined sharply across the board.
  • In Japan, the Nikkei 225 recovered to trade at 26,643 in subdued trade on Tuesday, as investors navigated a challenging market environment.
    • Traders citing key risks to be rising interest rates, high inflation and the prospect of a global economic slowdown.
    • Investors welcomed news that Shanghai plans to gradually reopen after spending more than 6 weeks in lockdown.
  • In Australia the ASX200 recovered to trade at 7,128, and rallying for a 3rd straight session.
    • Aussie markets lifted by mining and energy stocks on higher commodity prices.
    • Local energy stocks tracked oil prices higher amid tight global supplies and a looming EU ban on Russian oil. TE
• Crude oil rallied sharply to $114/bl after rising for four straight days to the highest close since March 23.
  • Supply (Russia) concerns seem to outweigh demand (China) concerns, resulting in upward pressure on prices.
  • On Monday, EU foreign ministers failed to pressure Hungary to lift its veto of a proposed oil embargo on Russia, with Lithuania saying the bloc was being “held hostage by one member state.”
  • The US oil benchmark has also been rising at a faster pace than Brent in recent sessions, as US gasoline prices surged to record highs on rising demand coupled with restrained refining capacity.
  • US producers are ramping up production in order to replenish inventories that have dwindled in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Energy News
• Gold recovered to open at $1830/oz after the Dollar declined and traders booked profits ahead of Jay Powell’s speech tonight.
  • However, rising US yields slowing down the Yellow metals rise.
  • The benchmark US 10-year yield bounced back above 2.9% on Tuesday, limiting demand for the non-interest-bearing metal.
  • The WAR in Ukraine also sending more investors to the safe-haven metal, as what is being deemed “good buying levels” . Kitco metals
• The US dollar declined to the 104 level on Tuesday, and in turn retreating from a 20-year high reached last week.
  • Traders took profits and scaled back bets on whether US interest rate hikes will drive further greenback gains.
  • The dollar also tracked a recent decline in US Treasury yields as investors sought the safety of bonds amid concerns that aggressive near-term hikes.
  • Markets are priced for at least a half percentage point rate increase at each of the next two Fed meetings in June and July.
  • Traders also keeping an eye on Powell’s speech tonight. FX news
• Crypto
  • Bitcoin US Dollar traded at 30,300.5 this Tuesday May 17th, increasing 1.33% since the previous trading session.
  • The crypto currency stabilising after the recent loss in value following the FED’s announcement to drain liquidity from the market to fight inflation.

• Turkey opposed both Sweden and Finland’s application to join NATO.
  • The alliance needs a unanimous 30 member vote to obtain approval.
  • Both Nordic countries announced it would send envoys to Turkey to discuss.
  • Moscow has warned of “retaliatory steps” if the countries join the alliance, with Russian President Vladimir Putin describing the development as “a problem.” CNBC
• Ukrainian forces have completed their “combat mission” in Mariupol, according to a statement by the country’s military.
  • It comes after hundreds of people were evacuated from a steel plant that was the last holdout in the city under relentless Russian bombardment.
  • Russian forces have claimed victory.

• WORLD 519,865,036 / 6,284,713 / 474,595,557
• USA  84,066,379 / 1,026,109 / 81,163
• SA 3,871,085 / 100,360 / 3,696,731