Johannesburg – The rand was a little stronger at noon on Monday after shrugging off the weak local GDP figure as a soft number was expected.
“The rand strengthened ever so slightly but is trading in narrow ranges. The weak GDP figures did not affect the market as a weak figure was expected. It looks as though the December holiday has hit the currency market already‚ with lacklustre trade prevailing in a narrow range‚” a currency trader said.
SA's real gross domestic product rose by 1.2% on a quarter on quarter and seasonally adjusted annualised basis in the third quarter of this year from a revised 3.4% (3.2%) in the second quarter‚ Statistics SA data showed on Tuesday.
At 12:03‚ the rand was bid at R8.8374/$ from Monday’s close of R8.8460. The local currency was bid at R11.4501/€ from its previous close of R11.4887 and at R14.1565 against sterling from R14.1781 before.