Rand gains more than 30c on dovish US Fed

The rand was trading at R13.33/$, R15.33/€, and R17.50/£ at 6.25am.

When the US central bank raised its interest rates by 25 basis points in December, taking its ceiling to 2.5% and its floor to 2.25%, it indicated it intended raising the upper end of its range to 3% by the end of 2019.

Powell’s statement on Wednesday night indicated this was no longer the plan, which lifted Asian markets on Thursday morning.

Naspers’s dominant asset, Tencent, rose 1.16% to HK$348.20 and BHP gained 1.21% to A$35.02 in Sydney ahead of the JSE’s opening on Thursday. Naspers and BHP between them account for more than a third of the top 40 index, indicating a good day for the local bourse.