Rand weaker after GDP data

South Africa’s rand maintained losses on Tuesday afternoon as concerns over the Russia-Ukraine conflict lingered, while traders also digested domestic GDP figures that broadly matched expectations of a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

At 17:23, the rand traded at 15.2972 against the dollar, 0.25% weaker than its previous close.

Russia-Ukraine peace talks made scant progress on Monday. The military conflict in Ukraine, which Russia calls a “special operation”, has triggered sweeping sanctions on Russia that have rattled global markets

South Africa’s higher exposure to commodities such as gold and palladium has helped limit losses in the currency as the conflict saps investors’ appetite for riskier assets.

“(The rand) has been 15.20-15.50 for a little while now, weathering the storm that has affected a lot of other currencies and markets,” Warrick Butler, chief trader at Standard Bank, wrote in a note.

“Most commodity currencies are in a similar position to the rand as are a couple of EM countries far away from the conflict. Money needs to find a home.”

Locally, the focus was on gross domestic product data for the October-December 2021 period, that showed the economy grew 1.2% in the quarter after contracting 1.7% in the previous three months, driven by recoveries in manufacturing and agriculture.

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark 2030 government bond ZAR2030= was up 26.5 basis points to 10.26%, reflecting weaker prices.

The benchmark All-Share index closed down 1.28% at 72,360 points, the lowest level since January 24 and its fourth straight daily loss. The bluechip Top 40 ended down 1.31% at 66,262 points.

The biggest losers were energy and consumer cyclical companies, while tech giant Naspers was among stocks that gained ground.

Read: Prosus expects R11.83bn writedown on its stake in Russia’s VK