Although lots of influential data is scheduled for publication this week, Monday is comparatively quiet and markets have been a bit static as a result.
The Pound Sterling/Rand exchange rate is currently in the region of 16.4962 as of 13:00 GMT
While the Australian and New Zealand Dollars experienced some movement during the South Pacific session as a result of surprising Chinese and domestic data, the Rand began local trading locked in a tight range against its British and US currency peers.
The South African Veterans Day holiday also limited movement.
The GBP/ZAR exchange rate hit a high of 16.6252 Rand per Pound
Last week the Rand weakened considerably against the ‘Greenback’ as a result of an unexpectedly strong US non-farm payrolls report. The commodity-driven asset weakened to 10.40 Rand per Dollar before a slight upward correction saw it trading in the region of 10.30 Rand per Dollar.
In its morning report Absa Capital observed; ‘Even though the Rand has recouped some of Friday’s losses, we suspect that Rand bears have merely locked in some profits and that there is scope for another wave of Rand selling over the coming days.’
If Wednesday’s South African retail sales report shows improvement, the Rand could strengthen. In August sales increased by 1.1 per cent month-on-month and were up 3.0 per cent on the year.
However, with the Bank of England delivering UK inflation/outlook reports and UK retail sales/employment figures due to be released other factors are likely to impact the GBP/ZAR pairing as the week continues.
Any hints from the US regarding a potential timeline for tapering quantitative easing will also be influential.
As the Rand tracks the Euro investors will be turning their focus to Eurozone growth reports on Thursday and hoping that they defy expectations by revealing strong growth for the currency bloc.
Current South African (ZAR) Exchange Rates:
< Down > Up
The US Dollar/South African Rand Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 10.3675 >
The Pound Sterling/South African Rand Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 16.4962 <
The Euro/South African Rand Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 13.8187 >
The Australian Dollar/South African Rand Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 9.6455 >
The New Zealand Dollar/South African Rand Exchange Rate is currently in the region of 8.4494 >
The Canadian Dollar/South African Rand Exchange Rate is currently trading in the region of 9.8715 >
(Correct as of 13:00 GMT)
Comments are closed.