Rand steady ahead of risks, as investors pile back into SA

The rand was stable against major global currencies on Monday afternoon, despite a mild sell-off in equities on major international markets.

Earlier local data was supportive of the currency, but key risk events loom this week, notably the announcement of the US Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy decision on Thursday.

Markets will also keep a close a watch on the Bank of England (BoE), which is widely tipped to increase rates on Thursday.

Data from the Reserve Bank earlier showed private-sector credit extension expanded slightly faster than expected to an annualised 5.68% in June compared to a Trading Economics forecast of 4.92%.

Foreigners were net buyers of local bonds to the value R5.68bn last past week, despite continued volatility on global markets.

While rand volatility is likely in the third quarter, particularly if US-led trade and geopolitical tension flares up again, the domestic currency could prove less volatile than in the second quarter as significant portfolio rebalancing has already occurred, says Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop.

At 3.03pm, the rand was at R13.1618 from R13.1882, at R15.3913 to the euro from R15.3729, and at R17.2728 to the pound from R17.2781.

The yield on the benchmark R186 was steady at 8.58%, from 8.57%, while the R207 was at 7.375% from 7.355%.