Johannesburg – The rand was a smidgen firmer against the US dollar in midday trade on Monday‚ having recouped some of its earlier losses against the greenback.
However‚ traders said the recent Fitch downgrade of SA’s sovereign rating continued to weigh on the local currency.
“We are still reeling from the Fitch downgrade‚ however there has been some improved sentiment because of potential policy changes‚” Vunani Private Clients global market analyst Kuziva Muganiwa said.
At 12:25‚ the rand was bid at R8.6850/$ from its previous close of R8.7413/$ on Friday. The local currency was bid at R11.6183/€ from its previous close of R11.4872/€ and at R14.0012 against sterling from R13.9807 before.
The euro was bid at $1.3383 from its overnight close of $1.3272.
“The announcement by the department of labour that they will hold public hearings about minimum wage should help to mitigate the effect that the strikes in the Western Cape are having on the rand. Government is coming out clearly in response to the strikes – something they haven’t done yet‚“ he said.
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