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The rand extended gains against the dollar on Friday morning, firming by almost 1%.
On Thursday the local currency reversed earlier losses to the end the day over 1% stronger against the greenback as the dollar weakened.
The rand opened Friday at 14.29/$ and was trading at 14.16/$ at 10:17. This is its best level since mid-December 2018.
Bianca Botes of Peregrine Treasury Solutions said in a morning note to clients that dramatic swings in the rand – at one stage on Thursday it was trading as low as R14.70 to the greenback – point to a volatile year ahead for the local currency.
“The high volatility signals the sensitivity of the rand to bad news, especially from a global economic perspective and the emerging market basket. Global growth concerns are continuously adding pressure to the local unit but the rand remains resilient.”
The JSE was also in positive territory on Friday morning, with the All Share index up 0.62% at 51 989.14 and the Top-40 0.72% firmer at 45 951.38, with Naspers [JSE:NPN] trading 3.12% higher.
* Fin24 is part of Media24, a subsidiary of Naspers.
