Rand holds steady below R16/€ after US jobs reports

The rand was little changed against major global currencies on Monday morning, holding steady below R16/€, as markets digested the US nonfarm payrolls report from Friday.

The upbeat report has forced investors to temper their expectations of US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, something that continued to put risk-assets under pressure on Monday morning.

At 9.42am the rand was little moved at R14.1986/$, R15.9403/€ and at R17.779/€. The euro was flat at $1.1227.

Gold was up 0.48% at $1,406.22/oz.

Some focus was also on Turkey, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unexpectedly sacked the country’s central bank governor, raising concerns of political interference.

Focus was now on US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before the US congress on Wednesday, as well as US Fed minutes, Rand Merchant Bank analyst Nema Ramkhelawan-Bhana said.

Emerging-market currencies and bonds continued to find favour due to relatively higher interest rates, but Powell’s testimony will be closely watched as the market considers whether to further pare back the probabilities of near-term policy loosening. 

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Source: businesslive.co.za