Rand rallies as US-China trade-war tensions ease

At 5pm the domestic currency was bid 2c stronger than the same time bid on Tuesday at R14.80 against the dollar. Against the pound, it was 9c stronger at R19.03 and bid at R16.38 versus the euro.

Treasury Partner at Peregrine Treasury Solutions Bianca Botes said the rand was buoyed by the easing in US-China trade-war tensions. “The rand’s recent bout of strength came largely from an easing in tension within the realms of the US-China trade war. Washington has alluded to the signing-off of licensing and granting US companies the ability to sell Huawei-made (Chinese) products in the near future. With Huawei being a global frontrunner in cellular 5G technology deployment, it’s not hard to see why Trump made this move,” said Botes.  

Nedbank CIB research analyst Reezwana Sumad said that emerging markets continued to benefit from renewed hopes of a breakthrough in the US-China trade talks and the possible effects on global growth. “Despite Moody’s decision to downgrade the SA outlook, the rand posted significant gains since trading to a high around 15.2000 on Friday. This morning(Tuesday), it currently traded at R14.78 with the first technical support level is at R14.70,” said Sumad.