Rand weaker in early trade

The rand weakened against the dollar in early trade on Monday, with the currency expected to take direction from global market moves in the absence of local factors.

At 0636 GMT, the rand traded at 13.45 per dollar, 0.41% weaker than its close on Friday.

“Unlike in 2017, the primary driver of the USD/ZAR pair year-to-date has been moves in the greenback, with domestic factors playing a secondary role,” Rand Merchant Bank analysts Mpho Tsebe and Kim Silberman wrote in a note.

“We expect the mid-point of the USD/ZAR trading range to be 13.50 to the end of 2018, with the range between 13.00 and 14.00.”

The dollar slumped against major peers on Monday, knocked lower by US President Donald Trump’s comments on the greenback’s strength.

In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark paper due in 2026 was up 2 basis points to 8.745%. 

Source: moneyweb.co.za