As Uncertainty Rules, Rate Cuts are Gone

About this episode

Simon Brown discusses the current chaotic market conditions and the implications of rising oil prices on inflation and interest rates.

🌍 World Wide Markets – Episode 669 📅 11 March 2026 | Hosted by Simon Brown Powered by Standard Bank Global Markets, Retail & SHYFT 🧭 Market Mood: Chaos Means Doing Nothing With geopolitical tensions and wild commodity moves, markets are extremely uncertain. Simon's strategy right now? 🧘 Do nothing. Panic trading rarely helps. In times of chaos, sometimes the best move is to step back, ignore the noise, and let events unfold. 🛢️ Oil Shock: From $60 to $120 Oil has been incredibly volatile. 📊 Recent moves Early January: ~$60 Monday spike: ~$120 Tuesday: briefly below $90 Current level: ~$91 That still means oil is about 50% higher year-to-date. The big issue remains disruption around the Strait of Hormuz . 🚢 Shipping traffic Normal flow: ~20 million barrels/day Last Wednesday: 0 barrels Monday: ~20% of normal Oil supply is slowly returning, but the situation remains fragile. ⛽ What This Means for South Africa Higher oil prices feed directly into local fuel prices. 💸 Earlier estimates suggested: Petrol: +R5.40 Diesel: +R10 After oil pulled back slightly: Petrol increase may be ~R3 Diesel ~R5 Still extremely painful for the economy. 📈 Inflation & Interest Rates Oil shocks…

People in this episode

Host: Simon Brown

Topics covered

• market uncertainty
• oil prices
• inflation
• interest rates
• geopolitical tensions

Keywords

• market chaos
• oil volatility
• inflation impact
• interest rate cuts
• geopolitical tensions

Sponsors

Standard Bank

Mentioned in this episode

Places: South Africa, Strait of Hormuz, Oil

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