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Crypto veterans remember with fondness the days in 2017 when the bitcoin arbitrage premium screamed past 20% and even momentarily above 30% â not often, but often enough to make some very wealthy individuals.
To put that in more practical terms, there were times when bitcoin could be sold in SA at prices 20-30% higher than overseas exchanges. More usually, the price difference ranged between 4% and 8% which was still interesting enough to create a vibrant cottage industry for those savvy enough to negotiate the technicalities of bitcoin arbitrage.
Rand appreciates on positive economic prospects
By Philippa Larkin
By Chris Harmse
DESPITE the sharp rise in South Africaâs inflation rate from 3.2 percent in March to 4.4 percent in April, the announcement by the SA Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously decided to keep the repo rate at 3.5 percent boosted the rand exchange rate.
The currency was also helped by the upward forecast of the Reserve Bank of South Africaâs expected economic growth rate for 2021 from 3.8 percent to 4.2 percent. The rand exchange rate traded Friday afternoon on R13.93 against the dollar, or 21 cents stronger than the R14.14 of the previous Friday.
Equity markets and the rand turned bullish again
By Opinion
By Dr Chris Harmse
STOCK prices on the JSE turned around sharply last week to the positive side, on the back of a surge in commodity prices and a stronger rand.
The decrease in US long-term treasuries to lower than 1.6 percent, the strong increase in the IHS Markit South Africa PMI, the jump in the business confidence index and the suspension of the ANC’s secretary-general Ace Magashule, also contributed to markets to recover strongly, especially last Thursday and Friday. The rand reached its strongest level this year.
The Markit PMI index improved from 50.3 in March 2021 to 53.7 in April as new business and output grew strongly to multi-year highs. Customer demand of businesses are also recovering, and export demand improves as global markets recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.