A new series of programmes about songs which have had a political impact. Nkosi Sikelel i’Afrika, God Bless Africa, was composed in 1897 by a Methodist teacher in the Eastern Cape, Enoch Sontonga. Later, it was adopted by the African National Congress and became an inspirational anthem in the struggle against apartheid, forever associated with Nelson Mandela and the other prisoners on Robben Island.
It was sung by the crowd when Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s president in 1994 and is now part of the country’s national anthem. Enoch Sontonga died in 1905, aged 32. His grave was eventually identified ten years ago and is now a national monument. Presented by Robin Denselow.
Gold rises to record in London on South Africa mine disruptions
LONDON (Bloomberg) — Gold rose to a record in London as power cuts continued in South Africa, the world’s second-biggest miner of the metal. Silver jumped to the highest since 1980.
Anglo Platinum Ltd. and Gold Fields Ltd. shut operations in South Africa for a fifth day because of a shortfall in power supply. The country produces more than a 10th of the world’s gold and over three-quarters of its platinum. Gold also climbed on speculation the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates tomorrow, pushing the dollar lower and boosting gold’s appeal as an alternative to U.S. assets.
“Ongoing power outages in South Africa coupled with dollar weakness have triggered further investor and speculative-related buying” of gold, James Moore, a precious metals analyst at London-based TheBullionDesk.com, said in an e-mailed note Tuesday.
Gold for immediate delivery in London rose as much as $4.36, or 0.5 percent, to a record $933.33 an ounce. It traded at $929 an ounce as of 12:03 p.m. local time.
Silver for immediate delivery jumped as much as 12 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $16.83 an ounce, the highest since November 1980. It traded at $16.71 as of 12:03 p.m.
“Short-term gold is vulnerable to pockets of profit taking,” Moore said. “Given the concerns regarding the health of the U.S. economy and the prospect of lower interest rates dips will continue to find good volumes of buying interest, with the longer-term outlook still very positive.”
Gold’s 14-day relative strength index, a gauge used to predict price moves, was at 70.8 Tuesday. A reading of 70 or more indicates prices may drop.
———————————————Request to industry
Eskom Holdings Ltd., South Africa’s state power utility, has resumed supplying 70 percent of the power needed by mines, while most of that is required for so-called care and maintenance. Eskom has asked all industries to reduce power use by 10 percent immediately.
Eskom, which supplies about 95 percent of the country’s power, can’t meet demand after South Africa delayed a decision on expansion by four years.
The cost of borrowing gold for one year is 0.3579 percent, compared with an average of 0.26952 percent in the past 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Rates reflect forecasts about the amount of metal available for borrowing.
In London, the 10:30 a.m. gold “fixing” rate used by some mining companies to price their sales advanced $11 to a record $927.50 an ounce. The platinum fix rose $52 to an all-time high of $1,716 an ounce.
————————————————Shift to palladium
Platinum for immediate delivery rose as much as $12.25 an ounce, or 0.7 percent, to a record $1,738.75 an ounce. It traded at $1,7056.50 an ounce as of 12:04 p.m. local time. Palladium fell 0.5 percent to $387 an ounce.
The power cuts may prompt carmakers to switch to other metals such as palladium for their catalytic converters, used to filter out noxious emissions, Moore said.
“Once that alternative is developed, and is sustainable and economical, the shift out of platinum would be very rapid,” he said.
The platinum market may have a supply shortfall of more than 700,000 ounces a year for the next three years, UBS AG analyst John Reade said in an e-mailed note Monday.
UBS raised its one- and three-month forecast for platinum prices to $1,800 an ounce, from a Jan. 4 forecast of $1,600. Platinum may jump to as high as $2,000 an ounce in the short term should the South African supply disruptions continue, TheBullionDesk’s Moore said.
