Rand weakens before US election

Johannesburg – The rand weakened against the US dollar before noon on Monday as various international factors boosted the dollar.

“US employment data was higher than expected last Friday‚ which indicates that the US recovery is on track‚ which is very good for the dollar. All eyes will be on the start of the US presidential elections‚ which begins on Tuesday‚” said Mark Kalkwarf‚ a senior portfolio manager from the Iquad Group.

At 11:35am‚ the rand was bid at R8.7760 to the US dollar from Friday’s close of R8.7543. It was bid at R11.2369 to the euro from its previous close of R11.2522 and at R14.0260 against sterling from R14.0433 before.

The euro was bid at $1.2802 from Friday’s close of $1.2822.

“There is also renewed uncertainty on the EU debt crisis‚ which aided dollar strength. Greece is back in focus as its crucial parliamentary vote on measures to help it out of the financial crisis nears‚” Kalkwarf added.