Rand steady below R15/$ as global risk appetite improves
The rand was a little weaker on Monday morning, but steady below R15/$, even as global risk appetite improved a little.
At 9.33am the rand was 0.27% weaker at R14.9365/$, while remaining flat at R16.8767/€ and at R18.9801/£. The euro was 0.2% weaker at $1.1299.
The US will not implement tariffs against Mexico after reaching an agreement on stemming illegal immigration, US President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday.
If there were no significant local developments, the rand could benefit from global trade, including a lift from the prospect that global central banks will continue with loose monetary policy, Rand Merchant Bank analyst Nema Ramkhelawan-Bhana said.
“Yet, we would be naive to think that the local backdrop is unchanging, with a glance of this week’s data calendar, littered with high-frequency activity indicators and a measure of business confidence, likely to emphasise economic weakness,” she said.
Local manufacturing data is due on Tuesday, retail sales numbers on Wednesday and mining production data on Thursday. All of these data releases are for April, the first month of the second quarter.
SA’s economic performance in the first quarter of 2019 last week was much worse than expected, contracting 3.2% quarter on quarter.
Source: businesslive.co.za
