Breaking News Today – Monday 23 March 2026

Business News Today 

Platinum Plunges on Profit Taking and Market Uncertainty

Platinum futures dropped below $1,820 an ounce this morning falling by around -8% and, hitting their lowest level since mid December 2025, as profit-taking, weaker industrial demand, and improved supply conditions weighed on prices. Following a strong rally in late 2025 and early 2026, investors have begun locking in gains, triggering a sharp correction. Investment demand is expected to drop by up to 52% due to ETF outflows and weaker retail interest, particularly in China, while automotive demand is also set to decline as the shift to electric vehicles reduces the need for catalytic converters.

Although the market remains in deficit, the shortfall is expected to narrow due to increased recycling supply, particularly in Europe. Platinum also tracked broader weakness across precious metals amid the ongoing Middle East war. This comes as a stronger US dollar and rising bond yields reduce the appeal of non-yielding assets, while persistent inflation concerns raised expectations for tighter monetary policy from major central banks. Palladium also saw a drop of over -5% today to below the $1400 per ounce level, last seen in November 2025.

Asian AI Tech Crash Wobble’s Market

Last Thursday and Friday saw a double AI share price plunge for two Asian AI majors – Alibaba and Tencent. Tencent reported strong full-year 2025 results (revenue and profit up double-digits) on March 18. During the post-earnings call, executives highlighted plans to at least double AI investment in 2026, after around18 billion yuan spent in 2025, with total capex and R&D already at record highs. They also said they’d cut share buybacks to fund this. The stock cratered on Thursday, March 19 — its worst day in nearly a year (down 6–7% intraday in Hong Kong, wiping out roughly $43 billion in market value.

Alibaba reported Q3 results on Thursday, March 19: revenue rose only 2% missing estimates, while adjusted net income plunged 67% to $2.39 billion. Although cloud revenue grew 36% there are no clear AI monetisation timelines. Alibaba’s U.S. shares (BABA) suffered their steepest drop since October; the Hong Kong listing fell as much as 7.3% on Friday, erasing roughly $23 billion in share value. the Hang Seng Tech Index Fell 2.48% on Friday, extending the index’s YTD decline to roughly 7–10% and marked its weakest levels since late 2025. Other Tech majors such as Xiaomi were hit especially hard, with prices down 6.9–8.6% on Friday alone, dragged by the same AI-spending fears plus its EV exposure.

African Airlines Hit Hard by Jet Fuel Prices

With 70% of Africa’s jet fuel and kerosene imports flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, the current situation around the Iran conflict, is having a major impact on African Airlines. Shipping through the Strait has almost stopped since the conflict began in late February 2026, after US-Israel strikes on Iran triggered an Iranian blockade. Tanker traffic has now dropped to near-zero from around 100+ ships per day normally. The Strait normally carries approximately 20% of the world’s seaborne oil and LNG supply. The closure has halted that flow, causing the biggest supply shock in decades.

Jet fuel makes up between 30–50% of operating costs for most African airlines and up to 55% for low-cost carriers. Standard for the continent, which is higher than the global 25–35% average due to older fleets, longer routes, and no hedging. Domestic and regional tickets in Africa are noticeably higher for new bookings. International routes are also affected. The 70% spike in jet-fuel prices is being passed through directly via additional surcharges with some airlines charging a spot charge on arrival. The rapidly changing cost of fuel makes route planning and pricing unpredictable. Operators can’t quote flights too far in advance, at the risk of losing money if fuel prices spike.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:  

• Tesla and SpaceX are set to ‌build two advanced chip factories in Austin, Texas, one to power cars and humanoid robots, and another designed for artificial intelligence data centres in space, CEO ​Elon Musk said on yesterday. The comments followed Musk’s announcement a day earlier ​of plans to build “Terafab,” an advanced AI chip complex in Austin.
• The Hang Seng index dropped more than 3% to around 24,500 today, hitting its lowest level since August 2025, as escalating tensions in the Middle East triggered a broad risk-off move across global markets. The Shanghai Index decreased to 3867.00 Index Points, the lowest since December 2025. 
• Copper futures fell below $5.3 per pound this morning, marking their lowest levels in over three months as the prolonged Middle East conflict raised concerns about global inflation and growth, weighing on metal demand. The US-Israel war with Iran entered its fourth week with no sign of easing,
• Gold futures fell around -1.5% to below $4,400 per ounce this morning, extending its selloff into a fourth week as the ongoing Middle East conflict intensified inflation fears, with major economies facing pressure to boost liquidity, including through gold sales, to offset the war’s impact, leading to an expected gold glut in the market and driving prices lower.
• Egypt will settle $1.3 billion in arrears to international oil companies by June, ​the petroleum ministry said on Saturday, accelerating its previous ‌timetable for repayments. Egypt had accumulated about $6.1 billion in arrears to foreign oil companies by June 30, 2024 due to a prolonged foreign currency ​shortage that delayed payments and weighed on investment ​and gas output.

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar trading stronger against major currencies today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.15418 while trading against the Pound at 1.33539. The Yen is currently trading at 159.49 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR), has lost ground against the US dollar, and is currently trading at R17.15 against the US dollar almost -3% down in the last week.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are trading -3.5% lower this morning, and currently at around $4332.00 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are trending -1.7% lower today, with prices currently around $5.2335 per pound
• Silver futures are trending over -4% lower today, and currently trading at around $64.845 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are trending -8% lower this morning, and currently trading at $1812.00, While Palladium prices have slid by more than -5% this morning, and currently trading around $1370.00 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are have dipped slightly this morning, with prices currently at $111.89 with WTI trading at $98.14.
• Cocoa futures are trending lower, and down around -2% this morning, with prices currently trading around $3255 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are trending over 2% higher today, and trading at around $3.0975 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are trending 1.5% higher this morning, and trading at around $68 627 per coin currently 
• Ether prices have gained around 0.5% today, and currently trading around $2062.27
• $Trumpcoin are currently trading lower at around $3.200

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H35 Central African Time) 

African General News Briefs:

• A military drone strike on a hospital in Sudan, has killed 64 people and wounded 89 others, the World Health Organization said Saturday, with 13 children counted among the dead. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the attack on Friday hit El-Daein Teaching Hospital in the state capital of East Darfur, adding that “enough blood has been spilled” and it was time to stop the nearly three-year conflict ravaging Sudan.
• Kenya and Uganda took a major step towards regional integration on Saturday, with the launch of a new phase of the inter-state Standard Gauge Railway line(SGR). The project is aimed at linking East Africa to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The project broke ground on the 107-kilometre Kisumu-Malaba section of the SGR, completing nearly one thousand kilometres of seamless rail link from Mombasa to Malaba, forming a vital connection to the Malaba-Kampala rail line.
• Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Saturday that it had contracted a specialist company ​to handle a drifting and damaged gas tanker carrying LNG that ‌is drifting towards the Libyan coast. The ship, the Arctic Metagaz, will be towed to a Libyan port, NOC said in a statement, adding that the ​country’s oil facilities were not at risk of ​pollution.