Major car brand leaving South Africa, and Toyota sends a warning to its customers

Brent Crude oil price gains finally let up, falling to $88 per barrel overnight, following six consecutive days of increases.

This comes after traders showed renewed optimism that there would be progress in talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

That being said, there seems to be little movement on the front, following US President Donald Trump’s claim that his nation had complete control over the crucial oil passageway.

Talks between the US and Iran have reportedly reached a deadlock, with both sides hardening their positions and Washington pressing on with a blockade of Tehran’s ports to raise economic pressure.

Mediator Pakistan has reported that peace talks have stalled, although the deadline for a US-Iran memorandum of understanding could still be extended.

Through all the tension in the region, and the US dollar gaining, the rand has held up, and is in fact trading stronger against the greenback.

Overnight, the South African currency saw some gain as its exchange rate with the dollar dropped from R16.19 to R16.15, highlighting a renewed optimism among local investors and traders.

5 important things

Major car brand exiting South Africa: Many car brands in South Africa have come and gone over the years, and it looks like Malaysian badge Proton will be the next to do so, if partner Geely cannot revitalise its local sales figures [TopAuto].

Toyota South Africa sends a warning about scam SMSes from its official line: Toyota has warned customers in South Africa not to engage with SMSs promoting a collaboration between the carmaker and gambling provider AfricaBet [MyBroadband].

Hydrogen-powered JCB shatters world land speed record at Bonneville: The FIA has confirmed a new provisional world land speed record for a hydrogen-powered internal combustion vehicle after the JCB Hydromax reached an average speed of 653.909km/h on Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats in the US [IOL].

Hiroshi Okuda, Toyota Chief who pushed for the Prius, dies: Hiroshi Okuda, who served as president and then chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. in the late 1990s and early 2000s, has died. He was 93 [Bloomberg].

Mahindra Scorpio N Pickup teased ahead of debut: The Scorpio N pickup has been officially teased, with the production-spec truck set to make its global debut on 14 August [Motoring World].