The rand was flat against the dollar on Thursday morning despite dollar strength amid the expectation of a US interest rate increase in March. Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) analysts said that despite the local currency’s resilience against the dollar it remained at the mercy of local political developments. Speculation of possible Cabinet reshuffle remains high. TreasuryOne currency dealer Andre Botha said the rand had hit firm resistance at the R 13.15/$ mark and had retreated all the way back to the R13 level. He said the pullback was probably extended by the positive feeling on Wall Street as the Dow Jones closed at a record 21,115.55 points. Botha said the rand had a positive correlation with good days on Wall Street as they typically equated to positive emerging-market sentiment. "The positive sentiment from Wall Street would most likely cancel out the expectation of a rate hike in March, which is currently sitting on 80% after further hawkish statements from F...
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