Rand tiptoes weaker

The rand tiptoed weaker on Monday morning as investors looked beyond an uncertain local and global backdrop ahead of the budget speech this afternoon.

By 12:52 on Wednesday, the rand was 0.67% weaker against the dollar at 15.3183.

The JSE’s Top 40 Index was 1.10% lower at 48759.84 points, while the All-Share Index was down to 54199.28 points – a level last seen on October 2, 2019.

Government bonds were unchanged on Thursday morning, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 bond at 8.9%. 

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will reveal his much-anticipated budget this afternoon, but at this point market watcher Wayne McCurrie, the senior portfolio manager at FNB Wealth and Investment, says there could be a number of reasons that are causing the rand’s volatility against the dollar. 

“The rand weakening under these circumstances is not unusual.

“It could be the budget and it could be the Coronavirus. Last night the world market took a massive hiding and that is usually bad for emerging markets,” McCurrie says.