Russian attack on Ukraine roils commodity prices

Surging metal prices shielded SA from the worst of the market turmoil that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in what could turn out to be Europe’s biggest military conflict since World War 2.

Confirmation that Russian President Vladimir Putin had approved a full-on attack on Ukraine, and reports of casualties, led to a rush to the safety of developed-country assets such as US treasuries, pushing the dollar higher. The rand slipped to a two-week low, but was still relatively resilient in comparison to big drops in the Russian rouble and earlier, the Turkish lira…