Rand remains firmer but fails to break through R15/$

After the euro firmed against the dollar in early trade, on the prospects of a Brexit deal, it reversed course during the afternoon amid indications that China might be seeking permission from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to impose trade sanctions on the US.

At 3pm the rand was at R15.1565 from R15.20, at R17.5493 to the euro from R17.6293 and at R19.6786 to the pound from R19.8026.

The euro was at $1.1579 from $1.1595, after earlier firming to $1.1644.

At the same time the benchmark R186 government bond was bid at 9.195% from 9.225%, while the R207 was bid at 7.825% from 7.86%.

The US 10-year treasury was at 2.9575% from 2.9346%.

Last week saw R1bn worth of net foreign capital outflows from the bond market. For the year-to-date, outflows total R66bn, with R56.3bn of that from the bond market and R10bn from equity markets.

Risk-off sentiment is likely to persist. However, Nedbank analysts do forecast some near-term consolidation in local markets after the deep sell-off in the past month.