Rand eases

JOHANNESBURG. — The rand was marginally weaker yesterday morning despite a weak dollar.

The dollar has lost ground since president-elect Donald Trump’s speech last week, which disappointed investors as it provided little detail on Trump’s planned policies.

Rand Merchant Bank chief currency strategist John Cairns said there could be further volatility in the market ahead of Trump’s inauguration.

Cairns said that the rand could continue to firm if there was mild dollar weakness due to “Trumpflation” trade fading.

Brexit is back in focus. Trump has talked about drawing up a “fair” trade agreement with the UK once it leaves the EU and Prime Minister Theresa May’s will talk today about the UK’s exit from the EU.

The pound had consequently fallen to its lowest since 1985, excluding some brief extremes during the October flash crash, said Cairns.

Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) analysts said the rand had managed to hold onto gains made over the past few sessions. The analysts said the rand could trade in the range between R13,4000 and R13,6500 against the dollar.

South African and US inflation data are due out tomorrow followed by Chinese GDP data on Friday. Other factors that might affect the market are comments from Federal Reserve chairwomen Janet Yellen, who is due to speak this week.