Rand, under severe pressure, approaches R20/$
The rand weakened in early trade on Thursday, giving up some earlier gains after US treasury yields slipped from 16-year highs.
At 9.28am, the rand traded at R19.42/US$, about 0.4% weaker than its previous close. The dollar last traded around 0.04% stronger against a basket of global currencies.
On Thursday, a plunge in oil prices and softer US labour data helped pull treasury yields off 16-year peaks, weakening the dollar and giving some reprieve to emerging market currencies such as the rand in earlier trade.
The rand has already lost about 2.2% against the greenback this month. It’s still not at its worst-ever level against the dollar, although it is close — the record low was set in May, when it sagged to R19.85 to the greenback.
Rand cues
Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand often takes cues from international factors like changes in US yields, in the absence of major local data points.
On the JSE, the blue-chip Top40 index last traded about 0.1% higher. — Tannur Anders, (c) 2023 Reuters
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Source: techcentral.co.za
