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South African assets gain as Middle East peace hopes lift risk sentiment

South African stocks, government bonds and the rand currency strengthened in early trade on Wednesday, 6 May 2026 after US President Donald Trump signalled a possible peace deal with Iran, lifting global risk appetite and boosting demand for emerging market assets.
Source: Reuters.
Source: Reuters.

  • At 0802 GMT the rand traded at 16.43 against the dollar, up about 1.5% from Tuesday's close.
  • Trump said that "great progress" had been made towards a comprehensive agreement with Iran and said he would pause an operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
  • The US dollar was last down about 0.3% against a basket of currencies, with oil prices also falling to trade below $110 a barrel on expectations that bottled-up supply
    from the Middle East could resume.
  • South Africa is a net importer of petroleum products and heavily exposed to fluctuations in global energy prices.
  • "The risk at the moment is asymmetric, and the rand is vulnerable to further adverse developments that could hurt the country's terms of trade
    and tilt cross-border flows against the currency," ETM Analytics said in a research note.
  • A business survey showed on Wednesday that South Africa's private sector expanded at its fastest
    in nearly four years in April.
  • On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was up 2.5%.
  • South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond also firmed in early deals, with the yield down 14 basis points at 8.71%.

Source: Reuters

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world's largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day.

Go to: https://www.reuters.com/
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