South Africa will not back down against the United States, and Trump’s AI war

The rand was trading at R16.32 to the US dollar on the morning of Thursday, 17 September 2026, weaker than the day before.

South African markets ended yesterday lower, with the JSE All Share Index down 0.41% and the Top 40 Index down 0.48%.

Despite this, local economic data showed resilience, with July retail sales growing 3.4% year-on-year while inflation stabilised in the third quarter.

On Wall Street, US indices closed lower after the Federal Reserve unanimously raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.00%, its first hike in three years.

With expectations for a further hike later in 2026, the Dow Jones dropped 1.31% while the Nasdaq dropped 0.45%.

European equities recovered slightly amidst easing oil prices, with the STOXX 600 up 0.5%, the CAC 40 up 0.62%, and the DAX 30 up 0.53%.

UK inflation surged to a five-month high of 3.1% in August ahead of the Bank of England’s rates decision.

In Asia, markets traded higher on the back of reduced bond-market pressure, with the Nikkei 225 up 0.69% and the Shanghai Composite up 0.71%.

China’s industrial production increased 5.2% year-on-year in August, while the Bank of Japan is expected to raise rates on Friday to a 31-year high.

In commodities, Brent crude oil fell to around $105 per barrel as supply concerns eased following additional crude cargo offers from Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, gold gained over 1% amidst shifting global interest rate expectations, rising to $4,293.81 per ounce.

On Thursday morning, the rand was trading at R16.32 to the US dollar, R18.72 to the euro, and R21.85 to the British pound.

Important finance and investing news

Trump’s AI war: Senior officials in the Trump administration have met on an almost daily basis in recent months to map out potential guardrails for the United States’ AI future, following Donald Trump’s scrapping of an executive order in May that would subject AI models to extensive government review. [Wall Street Journal]

South Africa doubles down: Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola has said South Africa will not back down on its stance on affirmative action and land expropriation, as it comes under increasing pressure from the United States in the form of visa restrictions on government officials. [BusinessDay]

AirAsia in a nosedive: Shares in the airline plunged as much as 21% to their lowest point in four years after the Malaysian government reportedly asked other airlines to absorb the cash-strapped carrier’s domestic market share, while shares in sister company Capital A fell 18% to their lowest in more than a year. [Bloomberg]

US government says goodbye to Canadian goods: US President Donald Trump has advised agencies to remove Canadian goods from government contracts in the latest escalation of the trade war between the neighbouring countries, following threats he made to do so on social media last month. [Yahoo Finance]

Cape Town mayor promises housing: Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has promised to make increasing the affordable housing supply in the city a top priority if he is re-elected to the position in November, acknowledging that the city’s property market has priced many residents out of homes. [EWN]