The rand firmer as emerging markets take a breather

The rand firmed against the dollar early on Tuesday as some emerging market currencies that sold-off sharply in recent weeks regained some lost ground.

At 06:50 GMT the rand was 0.77% stronger at 15.09 per dollar compared to a close of 15.21 in New York.

Investors remain cautious in the rand though following second-quarter gross domestic product data last week which showed the economy entered into a recession.

The local market awaits the release of manufacturing production data for July at 11:00 GMT, with the market expecting a 1.10% increase year on year from a 0.7% rise in June.

The ramp-up in trade war rhetoric from Washington continues to rattle investor confidence as US President Donald Trump said he was ready to impose tariffs on almost all Chinese imports, threatening additional duties on another $267 billion of goods.

Bonds were weaker, with the yield on the benchmark paper due in 2026 rising 1.5 basis points to 9.2%.

Stocks were set to open weaker at 07:00 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange’s Top-40 futures index down 0.26%.