Rand recovers some ground
The rand’s gains were mostly driven by global factors, including the US decision to shelve plans to impose tariffs on Mexico and rising chances that the next US interest rate move will be a cut given lacklustre jobs data last week.
At 5pm on Monday the rand traded at 14.7950 versus the dollar, around 1.17 percent stronger than its previous close. Global factors also boosted emerging market equities, to their highest point in nearly four weeks yesterday.
However, local factors could again soon pull the rand back again.
After last week’s news that the South African economy contracted by over 3 percent in the first quarter, investors are now turning their attention to data releases on manufacturing, retail sales and business confidence to further gauge the economy’s health, Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM, said in a note.
“Should the pending reports fail to meet market expectations, the rand which is already tussling with domestic headwinds, may find itself exposed to downside risks,” the note said.
The rand slumped last week following news of the economic contraction and also amid a row over the central bank’s mandate, which rattled investors.
Government bonds were flat, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 instrument at 8.415 percent.
Reuters
Source: iol.co.za
