Rand strikes resilient note as global markets wobble
The rand was on firmer footing on Monday morning, putting it near a two-week high against the struggling dollar.
The local currency again appeared resilient in the face of the wobbly global sentiment. Equities from Asia to Europe were lower again, after showing signs of stability by the end of last week.
The rand tends to be a good indicator of risk-on/risk-off trade.
As some had speculated, Moody’s Investors Service on Friday deferred its decision to review SA’s debt rating to a later date.
“The next scheduled review would probably be in six months’ time, but Moody’s could still take action at any time if circumstances change — typically, if there is a major event that has impact on the credit quality of the sovereign,” said Mpho Tsebe and Elena Ilkova, analysts at Rand Merchant Bank.
“The [medium-term budget policy statement] would not be such event unless it contains changes to projections for the next three years that are both large and unexpected — a scenario that seems unlikely.”
At 10.11, the rand was at R14.4567 to the dollar from R14.4998, at R16.7193 to the euro from R16.7591 and at R18.9721 to the pound from R19.0020. The euro was at $1.1565 from $1.1541.
Local bonds were also steady in early trade, with the yield on the benchmark R186 fetching 9.24%, from 9.235% on Friday.
Source: businesslive.co.za
