The week of March 23-27, 2026 put commodities back at the center of African stock markets today: gold rose 3.4% to $4,524.6 an ounce, palladium gained 3.6%, platinum added 2.1%, while Brent settled at $105.19 a barrel, up 5.2% for the week despite a 2.6% drop on Friday. That mix favored South African miners and Nigerian oil names, while agricultural counters were more mixed as cocoa was nearly flat at $3,161 (-0.1%) and coffee fell 2.1% to 301.05.
Key figures
- Gold: +3.4% to $4,524.6
- Brent: +5.2% for the week to $105.19/barrel
- Palladium: +3.6% and platinum +2.1%
- USD/ZAR: +1.09% to 17.1626
- USD/EGP: +0.44% to 52.74
Precious metals led the week, with oil close behind
The clearest market signal came from precious metals and platinum group metals, which matter directly for the JSE. In South Africa, the simultaneous rise in gold, silver (+3.2% to $69.82), platinum and palladium mechanically improved revenue expectations in ZAR for exporters, especially with the weakening as climbed to . For companies such as , , and Harmony Gold, the combined metal-price and FX effect is crucial: dollar-denominated sales translate into more rand, supporting margins if domestic costs do not rise at the same pace.