Rand steadies as it breaks ranks with global markets

JOHANNESBURG — The rand was steady yesterday morning as it broke ranks with generally positive mood on global markets.

Investors cheered the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI’s) decision to close the probe into Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s e-mails.

“Risk appetite has returned at the start of the week following an awful run which saw the S&P 500 go on a nine-session losing streak, the longest in nearly 36 years,” Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam said.

The rand, which tends to benefit from the global risk appetite, exhibited a slightly weaker bias against the dollar, partly reflecting the strong dollar environment.

ETM Analytics analyst Ricardo da Camara said the local currency was likely to consolidate around the current levels after relatively strong gains in recent days.

The rand has outperformed other currency pairs in recent sessions, tracking the positive political developments, including the release of the public protector’s report into state capture.

The local currency notched up 1,5 percent against the dollar last week but lost out against the resurgent pound after the British High Court ordered the government to consult Parliament before considering leaving the EU.

At 9.14AM, the rand was at 13,5476 to the dollar from Friday’s 13,5350. It was at 14,9867 to the euro from 15,0033 and 16,8432 to the pound from 16,8965. The euro was at $1,10623, from $1,1063. — BDLive