Wednesday, 9 April 2025, has brought notable developments across the global market.

Fuel prices have seen a significant dip, with both Brent crude oil and WTI crude oil futures falling 4%.

Brent oil dropped to its lowest point in four years, falling below $61 per barrel.

This marks a continued decline for the fifth consecutive session, driven by growing concerns that the ongoing trade war, particularly U.S. tariffs, could lead to a global recession and reduced demand.

Many African countries are feeling the effects of this shift. Nations like Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco, and South Africa have already announced cuts in petrol and diesel prices, offering a glimmer of relief to consumers.

However, Nigeria is an exception, with prices rising on 2 April, after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company adjusted prices upwards during the ongoing phase-out of fuel subsidies.

Despite the global decrease in oil prices, South Africa’s situation remains precarious.

The country’s currency, the Rand, has been in freefall against the U.S. dollar, now sitting at a record low of R19.79.

With the Rand’s sharp decline, any benefit from falling oil prices is likely to be overshadowed, contributing to ongoing economic uncertainty in South Africa.

In India, the Reserve Bank took steps to combat slowing economic growth by cutting the key repo rate by 25 basis points to 6%, bringing borrowing costs to their lowest level since November 2022.

This follows two consecutive cuts aimed at stimulating growth amid rising inflation concerns and the escalating trade tensions.

The central bank has adjusted its GDP growth forecast for the fiscal year 2025-26 to 6.5%, slightly down from a prior estimate of 6.7%.

Inflation is expected to remain within the central bank’s target range of 2-6%, now revised down to 4% from the previous 4.2%.

South Africa’s citrus industry is facing a potentially devastating blow. The Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGASA) has expressed concern over the impact of new reciprocal tariffs between the U.S. and South Africa.

These tariffs, which come into effect today, could raise the cost of South African citrus by $4.25 per carton for U.S. consumers.

This could affect up to 35,000 jobs in the citrus sector, which exports about 6.5 million cartons of fruit to the U.S. each year.

The association is calling on the South African government to prioritize negotiations with the U.S. to reduce or exempt these tariffs.

Meanwhile, Sim Tshabalala has been appointed as the Interim Chief Executive of The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, effective from 8 April 2025.

He will also serve as the CEO of Standard Bank Group, a role he will hold until further announcements are made about the company’s executive succession.

Lungisa Fuzile, the current Regional Chief Executive for South and Central Africa, has also stepped into an interim role as Chief Executive of Africa Regions and Offshore.

Copper futures continued to decline today, nearing multi-month lows, as the ongoing trade war, particularly the new U.S. tariffs, dampened investor sentiment.

President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which include a 104% levy on Chinese goods, have led to further uncertainty in the markets.

China has vowed retaliation, raising fears that a global recession could be imminent.

Despite this, copper prices gained a slight rebound this morning, trading at around $4.15 per pound.

In currency markets, the U.S. Dollar has strengthened against most major currencies.

It is trading at 1.1078 against the Euro and 1.2847 against the Pound.

The Rand’s drop to near historic lows, hovering around R19.72, continues to put additional pressure on South Africa’s economy.

On the commodities front, gold prices have risen more than 2%, trading at $3042, continuing a recovery after a brief dip earlier this week.

Copper has shown some signs of recovery after a 15% drop last week, now trading at $4.1496 per pound.

Silver is also trending upwards, currently at $30.264. Platinum is slightly higher at $906, while Palladium continues to fall, trading at $878, down 7.9% for the week.

Brent Crude prices, in line with recent global trends, have dropped 18% in the last week, hitting a four-year low at $61.06 per barrel.

Similarly, WTI crude oil has fallen to $57.85, marking a significant decline across the energy sector.

Cocoa and coffee prices have also been impacted, with cocoa down by 12% and coffee down by 11% over the past week.

Bitcoin, however, has gained 1.5%, trading at $77,503, while Ether continues to lose ground, now trading at $1472.

The global markets are clearly under strain, and while some regions are seeing signs of recovery, others are grappling with the consequences of an increasingly unstable economic environment.