RAND RISES TO ONE-WEEK HIGH AGAINST THE DOLLAR BEFORE CLOSING AT R14.23
THE RAND strengthened to a one-week high yesterday, rising 0.73 percent to R14.25 against the dollar, its highest level since April 29, before closing at R14.23, up 13 cents. The ANC on Wednesday suspended its secretary-general, Ace Magashule, which is seen as a sign of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s growing control over the fight against corruption. The US government decided to support South Africa and India’s proposal to waive intellectual property right protections for Covid-19 vaccines. The Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Waiver is one critical element in the toolbox to boost supplies of vaccines in the shortest possible time. It can enable the use of unused manufacturing capacity across the world and speed up the expansion of production facilities.
The rand also made gains after the dollar fell from a two-week high as the US Federal Reserve downplayed the risks of higher inflation ahead of the US monthly jobs report due today. Anchor Capital’s co-chief investment officer, Nolan Wapenaar, was reluctant to attribute the movement in the rand to any individual item. Wapenaar said the relaxation of international property rights pertaining to Covid-19 vaccines was positive for South Africa, emerging markets and the world as a whole. “I think, however, that linking this to the behaviour of the South African rand is tenuous,” he said. “It is many months before South Africa will be in a position to produce its own vaccines, and the ability of the state to efficiently distribute these remains a mystery. Recent political developments in South Africa are far more likely to be influencing the currency in the near term.” Stocks also lifted slightly as investors remained hopeful about a strong global economic recovery while cautiously awaiting a scheduled review of South Africa’s sovereign credit by Moody’s today. The FTSE/JSE All Share Index rose to 67 687 points in intraday trade before closing 0.389 percent higher at 67 608.89 points, buoyed by gains in gold miners.
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