Strong commodity run boosts JSE

Despite the gold price cooling slightly on Wednesday, bullion still remained close to a 13-month high as the Russian-Ukraine conflict continued to increase supply concerns. However, the stronger US dollar, making gold more expensive, impacted gold’s daily performance. Palladium, an auto-catalyst metal, got close to a 7-month high. At 23h25, gold traded at $1 927.01/oz, palladium at $2 666.77/oz and platinum at $1 072.55/oz.

Oil prices have soared since the Ukrainian invasion, especially after the US indicated that it is considering further sanctions against Russian oil and gas imports. Trading at $114.18 per barrel at 23h41, Brent crude reached a figure last seen in 2014. Although the US and Japan have released 60 million barrels of crude oil from emergency reserves and International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director, Fatih Birol, have warned that the current energy market situation is “very serious and demands our full attention,” OPEC+ (of which Russia is a member) has stuck to its output increase decision for April 2022.

The local market, which is highly reliant on commodities, closed 0.55% up on Wednesday. Reports showed that the Resources 10 Index, a diversified mining index, has reached its highest mark since June 2008. Sasol was one of the top performers on the local bourse, rising 7.53% for the day to reach a peak last seen in September 2021.

European indices also made up some previous losses after commodity prices boosted both energy and miners. The pan-European STOXX 600 grew by 0.90%. Reuters reported that Wall Street opened stronger on Wednesday, as “US Fed Chair [Jerome] Powell reassured investors that the Fed remains committed to tame inflation while pointing to a smaller-than-expected 25 basis point rate hike in March. Still, Powell noted that the Fed could move more aggressively if inflation does not abate as expected, while pointing out that the outbreak of war in Ukraine brought a significant degree of uncertainty for monetary policy.”

In Asia, markets took a knock, with China’s Shanghai closing 0.13% in the red and the Hang Seng falling to a 2-year low. Despite energy firms benefitting from the strong oil price, investors sold equities with high valuations, especially counters for new-energy vehicle makers.