The biggest market move for African stock markets today did not come from Brent, even after its 2.2% daily rise to $75.36 a barrel, but from foreign exchange. The dollar climbed 3.62% against the Moroccan dirham to 9.4074, 2.12% against the Tunisian dinar to 2.9388, 0.70% against the Nigerian naira to 1,379.23, and 0.80% against the Kenyan shilling to 129.48, reshaping how local equity returns should be read across commodity-linked African exchanges.
That ranking matters because, across several African bourses, returns on commodity stocks now depend as much on the reporting currency as on the underlying commodity itself. By contrast, the Egyptian pound strengthened 0.44% to 49.47 per dollar, while the South African rand gained 0.42% to 16.4676, trimming part of the upside from gold at $4,043.9 an ounce, platinum at $1,615.0, and palladium at $1,191.5 for South African exporters.
Key figures
- USD/MAD: 9.4074, up 3.62%
- USD/TND: 2.9388, up 2.12%
- USD/NGN: 1,379.23, up