The biggest move of the day did not come from oil but from cotton, up 6.8%, while Brent crude fell to $90.7 a barrel, down 2.6% on the day and 3.8% on the week. Yet for African equities, the more decisive variable this week was foreign exchange: USD/EGP at 51.93 (+0.46%), USD/KES at 129.35 (+0.77%), USD/TND at 2.926 (+0.72%), and USD/ZAR at 16.377 (-0.44%) all changed how commodity gains and losses translated into local stock returns.
In African stock markets today, the week’s winners and laggards cannot be understood without separating commodity exporters from net energy importers and, crucially, fixed from floating exchange-rate regimes. Based on the market data in the macro backdrop, the South African rand strengthened 0.44% against the dollar, while the Nigerian naira was broadly flat at 1,359.66 per dollar (+0.02%) after a long period of sharp repricing. The West African CFA franc, by contrast, remains pegged to the euro at 655.957 XOF per euro, meaning BRVM-listed companies inherit euro moves more directly than dollar swings.
Key figures
- Brent: $90.7, down 3.8% on the week
- USD/EGP: 51.93, up 0.46%
- USD/ZAR: 16.377, down 0.44%
- Gold: $4,158.9, up 1.2%
- , the biggest move in the basket