Rand mixed after Ramaphosa’s reassurances on land

The rand was mixed against major global currencies on Thursday morning, firming against the dollar, while remaining slightly weaker against the euro and the pound.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s reassurances to the UN on Wednesday about developing a system of expropriation of land without compensation had seemingly provided support for the local currency, analysts said.

The dollar was also under mild pressure, after US Federal Reserve officials struck a somewhat neutral tone in the bank’s monetary policy statement on Wednesday.

The rand could be poised for further gains, and could push below the R14/$ level, said Standard Bank currency trader Warrick Butler. However, much would depend on movements of the dollar.

Local focus is on producer inflation data due at 11.30am. Inflation, as measured by the annual change in the producer price index (PPI), is expected to have moderated to 5.95% in August from 6.1% in July.

A recent fuel price reprieve from the government and continued subdued food inflation have been cited as contributing factors.

At 9.32am the rand was at R14.1667 to the dollar from R14.1348, at R16.5831 to the euro from R16.5969 and at R18.5886 to the pound from R18.6118. The euro was at $1.1705 from $1.1742.

The bid on the benchmark R186 10-year government note was at 9.05% from 9.07%, while the R207 was bid at 7.64% from 7.665%.