CRMS July 2017

The JSE reached an all-time high at the end of July, while almost breaching the 55 000 level in the first few days in August. Stocks have performed well, helped on by the a slightly weaker Rand, which is now trading at approximately R13.35 to the Dollar, a 3 week low, amidst an expectation that Moody’s may be the third rating agency to cut our foreign denominated credit rating to sub-investment grade on the 11^th of August. In other news, the governor of the Reserve Bank announced in July that the repo rate would be cut by 25 basis points, bringing down interest rates somewhat, attempting to give the economy a shot in the arm, to try and relieve some pressure that consumers have come under over the last year or so. Brent crude has traded at slightly higher prices, hovering around $52 a barrel at the end of the month, up from a low of $45. Gold is trading at $1269 for an ounce, up marginally from the end of June.

The listed construction sector did not really share in the gains that the JSE made in the month of July, with the index remaining relatively flat overall, losing a fraction of a percentage from the end of last month, closing on a value of 102.2, down from 102.6 and has remained relatively stable. There have been plenty results from the listed construction sector, with interesting dynamics emerging within various markets, which will be discussed in this report.