Despite some volatility amongst the African markets considered, overall returns have been inspiring over the 12 months. The Ghanaian and Mauritian equity markets lead the pack over this period with real returns of 45.1% and 39.3% – respectively. Over the month, the Rand weakened against all currencies considered except the kwacha and the Mauritian Rupee.
South African Markets (ZAR)
South African Market Cumulative Performance
South African Yield Curve
Offshore Markets*
Inflation***
Currencies (ZAR)
African Stock Exchanges’ Cum. Performance
Rand Exchange Rate
*** CPI is lagged by one month
Commentary
Despite some volatility amongst the African markets considered, overall returns have been inspiring over the 12 months. The Ghanaian and Mauritian equity markets lead the pack over this period with real returns of 45.1% and 39.3% respectively. Over the longer-term (5 years) the performance is less impressive with most markets struggling to yield returns in excess of inflation.
The South African equity market has outperformed the bond market by 5.49% over the past month. Over the longer-term (5 years), the situation is reversed with the bond market outperforming the equity market by 2.33%.
The inflation rates continue their upward trend across all markets considered. In fact, inflation over the last 12 months (as measured by CPI) is higher than the 3 year and 5 year annualised rates for all markets considered.
Over the month, the Rand weakened against all currencies considered except the Kwacha and the Mauritian Rupee. Over the longer-term (5 years), it is more of a mixed bag with the Rand weakening against the developed market currencies considered (i.e. Dollar, Euro and Pound) while strengthening against most of the other African