Rand slips against stronger dollar

The rand weakened in early trade on Wednesday, giving up some gains from the previous session, as the US dollar edged higher.

At 09:43, the rand traded at R18.60 against the dollar.

The dollar last traded at 102.600 against a basket of global currencies, up 0.088%.

The rand strengthened at the start of the week as analysts speculated the weekend’s aborted mutiny in Russia may mean President Vladimir Putin could skip a Brics summit, where South Africa would in theory be obliged to arrest him.

The Brics group of emerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — is due to hold the summit in Johannesburg in August.

“This morning, the rand has given up some of that recovery but still shows the potential to recover further,” ETM Analytics said in a note.

Like other emerging market currencies, the risk-sensitive rand is susceptible to moves in global drivers, such as the dollar, in the absence of local catalysts.

South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker in early deals, with the yield up 1.5 basis points to 10.535%.