Breaking News Today – Monday 3 November 2025

Business News Today

Africa Lead’s in the Global Emerging Markets Rally

Africa’s financial markets are currently stealing the spotlight in the global emerging markets (EM) landscape this year, with equities, currencies, and “real” assets like commodities delivering outsized returns amid broader volatility from U.S. policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, and a softening dollar. South African Shares lead the value in Africas stock landscape with its robust mining and financial sectors that have gained momentum due to higher commodity prices this year, despite the lack of new mineral exploration in the country over the last 15 years.

As of early November 2025, the MSCI Africa Index has surged around 25% year-to-date (YTD) in USD terms, outpacing the broader MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s 12% gain and even Latin America’s 18% rally. This momentum is fuelled by a commodity super cycle, particularly gold platinum and copper. coupled with credit upgrades, drawing aproximately $15 billion in fresh inflows to African assets in H2 of 2025 alone, according to Goldman Sachs estimates.

China Set to Zero Rate all African Imports

According to a statement by the Chinese foreign Ministry on Friday, China is ready to introduce zero tariffs on all export goods from African countries by signing an economic partnership agreement, Chinese President Xi Jinping said. “China has already granted zero-tariff treatment to 100% of goods from the least developed countries with which it has diplomatic relations,” Xi noted. “We are ready to extend this policy to all African countries that have diplomatic ties with China by signing economic partnership agreements for common development,” Xi said at the APEC summit, as quoted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday. Xi added that China will continue to pursue shared growth and prosperity with all nations.

Guinea Poised to Become a Top African Mineral Exporter

China’s deep-pocketed push into Guinea’s Simandou iron ore project, valued at approximately $23 billion, marks a milestone in Africa’s mining renaissance, with first shipments expected this month. Led by Chinese giants like Baowu Steel Group, Winning International, and Chinalco alongside Rio Tinto. The venture unlocks the world’s largest untapped high-grade deposit holding over 2 billion tonnes at 65%+ iron content. Spanning four blocks, it includes a 622km railway and deepwater port, with Wabtec securing $525 million in locomotive deals. The mine is poised to produce 120 million tonnes annually. Simandou will catapult Guinea to Africa’s second-largest mineral exporter, slashing Beijing’s reliance on Australian and Brazilian supplies (80% of seaborne trade) and fuelling green steel transitions.

Breaking News Shorts: 

• The dollar index held around 99.8 on Monday, hovering at three-month highs as investors weighed trade developments and awaited key economic data. Over the weekend, the White House announced that China would suspend additional export controls on rare earths and end investigations into US semiconductor firms, in exchange for the US pausing certain tariffs and scrapping a planned 100% levy on Chinese exports.
• Private-sector purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) for October released on today showed manufacturing activity growing at a slower pace in China and falling in South Korea  with export orders in both countries declining. Friday’s official PMI survey showed China’s factory activity falling for the seventh month in a row. Policymakers in Beijing are looking to see whether China’s $19 trillion economy is on track to hit its official 2025 growth target of around 5%, without needing to reach for further stimulus.
• East African Supply Chains Disrupted: Shipping companies have begun diverting their cargo ships to Mombasa port after the closure of the Dar es Salaam port in Tanzania, due to protest disruptions severely impacting regional trade, and increasing shipping costs for Kenyan and Tanzanian importers.
• Gold prices fell below $4,000 per ounce today, extending losses from the previous session, as expectations for further US rate cuts diminished and safe-haven demand eased following a US-China trade deal. The Federal Reserve delivered a widely expected rate cut last week, but Chair Jerome Powell signaled this could be the final reduction this year. Prices have subsequently improved.

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar stronger today, with the Euro trading against the US dollar at 1.15368 while the Pound is trading at 1.31455 to the US dollar. The Yen is currently trading at 154.07 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) is currently at R17.29 to the US dollar.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are gaining traction again after dropping below the $4000 mark earlier this morning, and are currently trading around $4013.70 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are fairly flat this morning, with prices currently around $5.0855
• Silver futures prices are trending higher today, and currently trading around $48.909
• Platinum futures are trending over 1.5% higher this morning, and currently trading at $1586.50, While Palladium prices are trending upwards today, and are currently trading around $1448.50 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices have surged today, and currently at $65.21 with WTI trading lower at $61.41
• Cocoa futures have dipped slightly this morning, and currently trading around $6141.40 per ton. 
• Coffee futures have risen slightly today, and are currently trading at around $3.9306 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices have lost traction today, dropping by over -2.6% and currently trading at around $107655 per coin 
• Ether prices have plunged by over -3.5% today, and are currently trading around $3734.86
• $Trumpcoin is trending upwards today, and currently trading around $7.78

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H30 Central African Time) 

Africa News Briefs:

• South African Leonora Tima has built an AI platform – Grit that provides a digital platform where people, mostly women, can talk about and track abuse.With financial and technical support from Mozilla, the Gates Foundation, and the Patrick McGovern Foundation, Leonora and her team began developing Grit, a mobile app that could help people record, report and get a response to abuse while it was happening.
• A major landslide in Kenya’s Rift Valley region has left at least 26 people dead and more than 25 others remain unaccounted for. Heavy rains have fallen in the area for days with the Kenyan Red Cross saying that the most affected areas are still not accessible by road due to mudslides and flash flooding. Twenty-five people with serious injuries were airlifted to a hospital in the nearby city of Eldoret for treatment, while others with minor injuries received care on site.
• U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the U.S. military would begin planning for a deployment of troops to Nigeria with the possibility of air strikes to stop the ongoing targeting and killing of large numbers of Christians in the country. Trump commented yesterday that “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria.