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Feb 03 2012 19:08
The rand firmed against the dollar in late afternoon trade following the release of better-than-expected US jobs data.
Feb 03 2012 17:02
Impala Platinum says it will start recruitment of new workers or the rehiring of dismissed employees next week after laying off more than 17 000 for going on illegal strikes.
Feb 03 2012 16:34
An economic package worth more than R300m has been agreed to with the Cuban government, says Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies.
Johannesburg - The rand briefly touched a new three-week high against the dollar on Friday, tracking gains in other emerging market currencies, mainly brought on by improved global risk appetite.
The government and the central bank have repeatedly voiced concern the rand is overvalued, and Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus told a public meeting on Thursday night the central bank was "grappling" with what to do about the strong currency.
At 08:38 the rand was trading at 7.2250 to the dollar, up 0.17% from its previous closing level of 7.2375 and not far off a high of 7.2210 touched earlier on Friday, its strongest level since August 11, according to Reuters data.
"Dollar/rand sold off aggressively yesterday, bucking the intraday consolidation we were looking for near 7.27," said Absa Capital in a note.
It said the present moves could see a re-test of 7.18 in dollar/rand, and potentially lower to 7.00.
South Africa's markets appear largely unfazed by a three-week old public sector wage strike that could carry on for a while after workers rejected a revised offer from the state.
The blue-chip Top-40 September futures contract was up just 0.03% before the 09:00 start of trade on the JSE, hinting at a flat open for the bourse.
Government bonds weakened on Friday, pushing the yield on the benchmark 2015 note ZAR157 up 2.5 basis points to 7.30%, while that for the 2026 note ZAR186 rose by the same margin to 8.07%.