Rand continues firmer ahead of medium-term budget speech
The rand’s gain is encouraging, Bidvest Bank says, given the broader recent dollar strength on expectations the US will raise interest rates in December
The rand was firmer against the dollar late on Monday amid quiet trade, and was within fairly tight ranges ahead of the medium-term budget policy statement. Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan will deliver his budget speech in Parliament on Wednesday, and the rand has gained on positive sentiment about the event. The local currency gained more than 1% against the dollar last week, but further local political developments have the potential to influence rand sentiment together with the budget policy statement, Investec economist Kamilla Kaplan said on Monday. The statement would be evaluated in the context of the possible implications for SA’s sovereign credit rating, she said. At 3.48pm, the rand was at R13.8852 to the dollar from Friday’s R14.0278. It was at R15.1193 to the euro from R15.2112 and R16.9813 to the pound from R17.0970. The euro was at $1.0889, from $1.0882 previously. Bidvest Bank said the rand’s appreciation was encouraging, given the broader recent dollar strength. The ...
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