Rand breaks through R15/$ after positive local GDP data
The rand broke through the R15/$ handle for the first time in almost a month on Wednesday morning, lifted by positive local economic news, as well as positive development related to protests in Hong Kong.
SA’s GDP rebounded by a surprise 3.1% in the second quarter data showed on Tuesday, while data on Wednesday showed there was surprising resilience in China’s service sector during August.
Reports on Wednesday also suggested that Hong Kong authorities were on the verge of withdrawing a controversial extradition bill that had sparked weeks of unrest in the city, including shutting down Hong Kong’s airport.
The rand was likely benefiting from this good economic news, especially the local data‚ as there had been fears in the market that SA was headed towards a recession, said Mercato Financial Services analyst Nico du Plessis.
Sentiment may be lifted a little by the development in Hong Kong, but this effect was probably slight, said Du Plessis.
At 9.57am the rand was up 1.01% to R14.9426/$ – its best level since August 6. It had risen 0.86% to R16.4256/€ and 0.51% to R18.1526/£.
Source: businesslive.co.za
