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Daily Brief Archive

Explore our complete collection of market insights and commentary.

Oil crossed $100 and the equity market finally blinked, while the SARB's surprise hold sent the rand tumbling
Friday, 24 July 2026 ∙ 9 min read
Oil crossed $100 and the equity market finally blinked, while the SARB's surprise hold sent the rand tumbling

Oil finally forced the reckoning it had been threatening all month. Brent crossed $100 a barrel for the first time since May after Houthi strikes on Saudi tankers hardened into a Red Sea blockade, and the equity market t

South Africa's inflation hit 5%, and today's SARB call now swings on an oil shock it can't ignore
Thursday, 23 July 2026 ∙ 10 min read
South Africa's inflation hit 5%, and today's SARB call now swings on an oil shock it can't ignore

Oil has done the one thing this month's calm equity market kept betting it would not: it has forced the issue. Brent punched to a fresh six-week high above $95 overnight after Yemen's Houthis fired missiles and drones at

The chip rebound hardened into conviction, and tonight's megacap earnings decide whether the relief trade holds
Wednesday, 22 July 2026 ∙ 9 min read
The chip rebound hardened into conviction, and tonight's megacap earnings decide whether the relief trade holds

For a second straight session the market bought the semiconductors it had dumped a week ago, and the rebound has begun to look less like a reflex and more like a decision. Wall Street closed firmly higher on Tuesday, led

The safe-haven dollar bid fades as de-escalation hopes return, and the rand claws back Monday's oil-driven slide.
Tuesday, 21 July 2026 ∙ 8 min read
The safe-haven dollar bid fades as de-escalation hopes return, and the rand claws back Monday's oil-driven slide.

The calm that markets spent all last week pricing did not survive the weekend. A strike on Gulf energy infrastructure and fresh attacks on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz sent Brent gapping above $90 this morning,

Oil gapped above $90 on a weekend of escalation, and the disinflation trade that ran markets to records is now in doubt
Monday, 20 July 2026 ∙ 9 min read
Oil gapped above $90 on a weekend of escalation, and the disinflation trade that ran markets to records is now in doubt

The calm that markets spent all last week pricing did not survive the weekend. A strike on Gulf energy infrastructure and fresh attacks on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz sent Brent gapping above $90 this morning,

Oil at one-month highs and a chip-led sell-off knocked equities off record, and the disinflation trade is wobbling
Friday, 17 July 2026 ∙ 8 min read
Oil at one-month highs and a chip-led sell-off knocked equities off record, and the disinflation trade is wobbling

The disinflation rally that carried equities to records this week ran into the two forces it had been discounting. A semiconductor sell-off knocked the S&P 500 off its all-time high and rippled across Asia, while Brent h

A second soft inflation print buried the July hike, and equities ran to records while oil still smoulders
Thursday, 16 July 2026 ∙ 8 min read
A second soft inflation print buried the July hike, and equities ran to records while oil still smoulders

For the second day running, an inflation print came in below forecast, and that was enough to finish what Tuesday started. June producer prices fell where the market expected a small rise, the odds of a Federal Reserve h

June inflation cooled sharply and the July Fed hike vanished, but rising oil is already rebuilding the risk
Wednesday, 15 July 2026 ∙ 9 min read
June inflation cooled sharply and the July Fed hike vanished, but rising oil is already rebuilding the risk

June inflation did what the market had almost stopped expecting. Headline prices fell 0.4% on the month, the sharpest drop since 2020, and core held flat, enough to take a July Federal Reserve hike from a near-even bet b

Oil's return premium collides with CPI day, and the disinflation trade the dollar priced in June is unravelling
Tuesday, 14 July 2026 ∙ 9 min read
Oil's return premium collides with CPI day, and the disinflation trade the dollar priced in June is unravelling

In June, falling oil quietly did the Federal Reserve's work, and this morning that help has been withdrawn. Brent is back near $85 after its steepest one-day gain since 2020, driven by a reinstated Hormuz blockade and a

A weekend of strikes reopens the war premium, and sterling's Burnham relief runs into a firmer dollar
Monday, 13 July 2026 ∙ 9 min read
A weekend of strikes reopens the war premium, and sterling's Burnham relief runs into a firmer dollar

A single weekend has undone a week of calm. Fresh US and Iranian strikes, and Tehran's declaration that the Strait of Hormuz is closed until further notice, have put Brent back above $79 and handed the dollar the safe-ha

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