RAND IN BUOYANT MOOD

Rand hits the ground running, strengthens against the dollar

THE RAND hit the ground running in early trade yesterday, strengthening to R13.31 to the dollar in intraday trade from an opening bid of R13.47.

Analysts said the greenback had been finding resistance around the R13.90 level and a break of this level would have unlocked a further move towards the next level of historical resistance considered at R14.40 to the dollar.

The domestic currency breaching the R13.40 level would indicate the short-term trend to be changing direction.

“The R13.40 level is a massive level for the rand to break and we expect the going to be tough to break through that level without a further catalyst to help the rand,” said TreasuryOne’s chief currency dealer, Andre Botha.

And the rand did not disappoint, strengthening to a 5pm bid of R13.37 to the greenback, 13c firmer than Friday’s same time bid.

Against the pound, the rand was 19c firmer at R17.72 and to the euro, the currency rallied 15c to R15.72.

Botha said the current market feeling was that the domestic currency would run out of steam, which could lead to it being range bound as we head into the week.

“The data out of the US was a mixed bag, with the NFP number coming in better than expected but wage growth came in a little soft against expectations.

“This mixed bag of data did not sit well with the US dollar, and we have seen the US dollar losing a little ground against most of its peers,” said Botha.

Meanwhile, JSE stocks also rallied, with the blue chip Top40 index increasing 1.7 percent to percent to 51 992.92 points, while the broader all share index gained 1.58 percent to 58 219.91 points.

Among major movers, Assore led gainers scoring 4.46 percent to R306.57, followed by Globe Trade Centre, which gained 4.29 percent to R36.50.

Vivo Energy added 4.12 percent to R26, while Barloworld ticked up 4.03 percent to R129 and Coronation Fund Managers increased 3.78 percent to close at R62.81.

Leading losses were Capital & Counties Properties, which declined 2.23 percent to R50.81, followed by PSG Konsult, which was 2.01 percent lower at R9.75. Gold Fields decreased 1.58 percent to R48.63, while MAS Real Estate ended the day 1.35 percent lower at R20.49.