Rand falls as Ukraine crisis weigh

The rand fell in early trade on Thursday as uncertainty over the war in Ukraine dragged on and commodity prices, which benefit the resource-rich country, fell.

At 0605 GMT, the rand traded at R14.50 against the dollar, around 0.3% weaker than its previous close.

Ukrainian forces are preparing for new Russian attacks in the east of the country as Moscow builds up its troops there after suffering setbacks near the capital Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday.

The rand has strengthened almost 10% this year, making it one of the best performing emerging market currencies, according to Refinitiv data, as it benefits from rising commodity prices alongside other exporters including Angola, Brazil and Chile.

On Thursday, prices of commodities such as gold, platinum and palladium edged lower.

Local focus is on February producer price inflation data due at 0930 GMT and trader balance numbers scheduled for release at 1200 GMT.