Number Of The Day | 31 March 2026 | 18
18: That is how many years it has been since the JSE had a month this bad.
In this episode of Number of the Day, Gareth Edwards and Francis Herd unpack a brutal March for South African markets, with the JSE suffering its steepest monthly decline since the 2008 global financial crisis era. The episode explores how war risk in the Middle East, the oil story, and shifting signals around the Strait of Hormuz have rattled confidence and dragged the market sharply lower.
But the conversation does not stay in market jargon. It moves quickly to the part that matters most at home. Why should ordinary South Africans care if the JSE is plunging? Because the market move is part of a bigger chain reaction. Oil risk feeds fuel pressure. Fuel pressure feeds inflation. And inflation eventually lands in the daily cost of living.
This is what Number of the Day does best: it takes a number from the headlines and shows you where it could land next.
Catch up on all Number of the Day episodes here: https://www.enca.com/number-day-podcast
