Rand stable below R14/$, as markets digest US election result

A weaker dollar environment helped push the rand below the R14/$ handle for the first time in two months on Wednesday, as global markets received a fillip from the US election results.

The midterm elections results came in broadly in line with market expectations, but still served to be dollar negative, Herenya Capital Advisors founder Petri Redelinghuys said.

Risk-on sentiment has been boosted by expectations that a Democrat-held House of Representatives may temper President Donald Trump’s economic policy agenda.

Opposition to Trump’s policies are expected to quell volatility in global markets, analysts said, something that has hit the rand and the Turkish lira previously.

“The greenback itself remains at historically very strong levels and does appear overvalued against many of its global counterparts. However, it is not clear whether this result will create enough change to foreign and trade policy decisions that it would encourage investors to seriously unwind dollar positions,” FXTM head of global currency research Jameel Ahmad said.