By: Creamer media

An index of South African mining companies jumped 33% in March, the most in a month since Bloomberg started compiling the data in 1995. That helped the benchmark FTSE/JSE All Share Index post a 3.1% gain for the month, outperforming emerging-market peers and US equities.

Leading the charge have been gold producers, with Harmony Gold Mining, the biggest local miner of the metal, and Sibanye-Stillwater both soaring 48% to make it them the best-performing stocks in the benchmark index. DRDGOLD and AngloGold Ashanti were also among the top performers.

Gold miners are back in favor after the metal hit multiple records this year on central-bank buying and haven appeal amid worries about the escalating trade war. And the rally may not be over yet, with Wall Street banks including Goldman Sachs Group. predicting further gains.

“I remain happy to ride this momentum wave to the upside, with bullion’s salad days unlikely to come to an end any time soon,” said Michael Brown, a senior research strategist at Pepperstone Group. “The rally isn’t quite indestructible, but the bulls continue to believe in their soul for now.”

The South African benchmark’s advance in March outpaced the 0.4% gain in MSCI Inc.’s index of emerging-market equities. In dollar terms, the South African gauge added almost 5%, compared with a loss of close to 6% for the S&P 500.

Bullion inched above $3 133 an ounce for the first time on Tuesday, following a 1.4% surge in the previous session. The metal may rise as high as $3 300 in the coming months, according to Goldman Sachs.

South African platinum producers have also thrived, as a slowdown in sales of electric vehicles spurred demand for the commodity, which is used in gasoline-powered engines. The spot price of platinum is up about 10% year to date, powering the shares of producers including Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., up 43% in March, and Northam Platinum Holdings, up 35%.

“March has largely been a continuation of some of the year-to-date themes where precious metals and a couple of large-market-cap stocks have led the market higher,” said Peter Takaendesa, head of equities at Mergence Investment Managers.

The global rotation out of US equities has also benefited South African stocks, according Unum Capital analyst Lester Davids.

“The Johannesburg Stock Exchange has been a beneficiary of the flows, with relatively lower valuations being one of the key drivers,” he said. The forward price-earnings ratio for the FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index is about 15, compared with about 21 for the S&P 500, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.