Rand breaches R14/$ barrier

THE JSE closed firmer yesterday as a weaker dollar boosted commodity prices and mining and resources stocks.

The bourse was higher after firmer Asian markets resulted in increased positive global sentiment‚ which drove up the demand for riskier assets. The dollar retreated after recent weak US economic data. Mixed messages from US Federal Reserve officials about the timing of a US interest-rate increase caused investor confusion. The softer dollar also pushed the rand well below the psychological R14 barrier‚ touching a firmest intraday level of R13.93.

The all-share index closed 0.70% higher at 51.126.80 points‚ with the top-40 adding 0.66%.

At 3.32pm‚ the rand was at R13.94/$ from Monday’s R14.14. It was at R15.32/ from R15.55 and R17.14/£ from R17.22. — TMG Digital/BDlive