Share

Weak US data offers rand reprieve

Johannesburg – The rand recouped earlier losses against the dollar on Thursday, turning slightly firmer after weak US home sales and manufacturing activity data pointed to sluggish growth.

Signs of faltering expansion in the world's biggest economy have made a June rate hike less likely.

This has in turn bolstered investors' appetite for assets denominated in high-yielding emerging currencies like the rand.

At 17:39 GMT the local unit traded at R12.2005 versus the greenback, up 0.22% from its New York on Wednesday and off a session low of R12.3000 reached earlier.

"It would seem that the rand is marginally stronger mostly on the back of dollar weakness," said Nilan Morar, head of trading at Global Trader.

"We've had [US] jobless claims which were higher than anticipated ... We also had new home sales data which was weaker than expected."

But weak domestic fundamentals, most significantly South Africa's worst power crunch in seven years, will likely cap any significant rand gains.

In fixed income, bond yields trekked higher, with the benchmark instrument maturing in 2026 adding 5 basis points to 8.085%.

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
19.05
-0.7%
Rand - Pound
23.98
-0.3%
Rand - Euro
20.55
-0.4%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
-0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.7%
Platinum
894.10
-0.3%
Palladium
996.00
-0.6%
Gold
2,193.32
-0.1%
Silver
24.41
-1.0%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
67,889
+0.3%
All Share
74,074
+0.2%
Resource 10
56,132
+0.9%
Industrial 25
103,554
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,492
-0.2%
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