Rand slightly softer as Turkish lira slides
The rand was weaker against major global currencies on Monday afternoon, with global markets somewhat subdued ahead of risk events.
The lira was fairing badly, under pressure after Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party said it would demand the recount of a mayoral election last week that saw it lose control of the country’s capital, Istanbul.
Fallout to other emerging-market currencies after the Turkish elections has, however, been limited as this was a very country-specific occurrence, said Mercato Financial Services analyst Nico du Plessis. The bigger driver at the moment was US-China trade talks, and to a lesser extent Brexit.
At 2pm the rand had weakened marginally to R14.1012 to the dollar, 0.3% to R15.8578 to the euro and 0.12% to R18.3986 to the pound. The euro was up 0.23% at $1.1245.
The bid on the benchmark R186 government bond was at 8.515% from 8.49%.
US-China trade talks resume on Tuesday, while on Wednesday EU officials will consider a request from the UK to delay Brexit until June 30.
Locally, the forthcoming national polls on May 8 are expected to get increased attention from traders as they draw nearer.
Domestic mining and manufacturing data is due on Thursday, while there are a number of other events of note, including the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) policy announcement on Wednesday.
Source: businesslive.co.za
