Daily Market Commentary Flash Note 20 May 2021

Currencies	Market focus today will be firmly on the outcome of the MPC.
Commodities	PGM’s are better bid; Benchmark crude oil contracts remain under pressure on rising supply concerns.
Equities	Top40 -2.3%; European equities fell on Wednesday; Wall Street’s S&P 500 index moderated losses late in the trading day but still closed 0.3% lower in New York, solidifying its third consecutive day of falls; Equities fluctuated in Japan.
Economics	SA retail sales growth disappoints in March; SA CPI surges in April due to low base effects and sharply higher transport costs.

Date	Region	Event	Actual/Expected/Prior	Implications
05/19	SA	CPI	4.4%/4.3%/3.2%	SA CPI surged to 4.4% y/y in April, from 3.2% in March, ahead of consensus of 4.3%.
05/19	SA	Retail sales	-2.5%/2.5%/2.2%	Retail sales contracted by 2.5% y/y and 3.7% m/m in March, from 2.2% and 6.9% respectively previously.
05/20	SA	SARB MPC	–/3.5%/3.5%	The repo rate is expected to remain unchanged.
05/21	UK	Retail Sales	–/36.8%/7.2%	Driven by a further reopening of the economy and increased household savings.