Share

Rand regains poise against dollar

Johannesburg - The rand regained some of its poise against the dollar on Friday after the previous day's losses in a risk averse market, although selling pressure should persist into the weekend.

Traders expected volumes to be thin as some Johannesburg players opted to take Friday off for an extended weekend after South African markets were closed for the Youth Day national holiday on Thursday.

Government bonds recovered after Thursday's losses, with yields subsequently pulling back from three-week highs. The yield on the benchmark 2015 bond R157 traded 1.5 basis points lower at 7.565% while that for the 2026 R186 fell three basis points to 8.61%.

By 06:47 GMT the rand was at R6.8490 to the dollar, barely changed from Thursday's close at R6.8530 in New York.

The rand had fallen to R6.9066 in global trade on Thursday - its softest level since May 31 - broadly in line with a weaker euro which was weighed down by debt turmoil in Greece.

Rand bears were however struggling to breach R6.85 on a sustained basis, Standard Bank said.

"The fact that the dollar is a bit firmer this morning, sovereign debt concerns in Greece are back on the radar screen and Asian equity markets have opened down despite some short covering on Wall Street last night should ordinarily imply a weaker rand," the bank said.

"However, rand bears might struggle to gain momentum given that there are no top-tier data scheduled for release ... not to mention volumes are likely to be light because a number of local participants might have converted yesterday's public holiday into a four day long weekend."

 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.90
+0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.85
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.38
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders