Money SA economy
The JSE was flat in opening trade on Thursday as European debt woes continued to haunt global markets.
At 9.30am the JSE all share index was flat (0.02), with resources also flat (0.05) and gold and platinum miners down 0.36% and 0.18% respectively.
Banks, however, were up 0.32% and financials up 0.26%. But industrials were off 0.13%.
Gold was quoted at $1,091.74 a troy ounce from $1,091.51/oz at the JSE's last close. Platinum was at $1,580.50/oz from $1,586/oz at the JSE's last close.
The Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee releases it decision on interest rates at around 3pm. South Africa's repo rate is expected to remain unchanged at 7.0% when the decision is made on Thursday, according to a survey of leading economists by I-Net Bridge.
South Africa's producer price index (PPI) registered growth of +3.5% year-on-year (y/y) in February from +2.7% y/y in January, Statistics South Africa data on Thursday showed.
The PPI increased 0.4 on a monthly basis after January's monthly increase of 1.3%.
Dow Jones Newswires reports Asian stock markets were mostly lower Thursday, with resources plays around the region taking a hit as European debt concerns hurt sentiment, but exporters were bolstering the Tokyo market.
On the JSE, Anglo American was 66 cents firmer at R301.16 and BHP Billiton gained 64 cents to R246.11. Sasol was down 89 cents at R281.61.
