South Africa: Mohawk market shows negative growth in April

The rand was quite volatile during April 2023. Towards the end of the month, the currency lost its strength and closed at R18.29 and R20.13 against the US dollar and the euro respectively. The consumer price index (CPI) is still rising and for April was 7.1% on a year-on-year basis, while the producer price index (PPI) fell to 10.6% for the same month. The fall in the PPI can be a positive indication that the CPI may stabilize or start to fall. The yellow maize price remains under pressure and once again experienced large price drops. It weakened by around R550/tonne during April and closed at R3 615/tonne. The wool market initially weakened during April, but as the month progressed, the Chinese buyers in particular were more active while the Australian market also strengthened. These factors, together with the weakening of the rand, caused the price of wool to rise again. The indicator price for certified clean wool closed at R187,56/kg in April. The mohair market showed negative ...