THE rand made a strong comeback against the pound on Monday after the British unit fell to a three-year low against the dollar. This followed Prime Minister Theresa May’s announcement that the UK would begin exiting the EU (Brexit) in March.The rand gained 1.6% to R17.4368/£ in intraday trade. It also clawed back some ground against the dollar amid general positive emerging market sentiment and a higher oil price.After gaining more than 1% against the dollar on Friday, the rand gained another 1% to R13.54/$ in intraday trade on Monday before weakening to R13.67/$ at the JSE’s close."There was nothing specific driving the rand, other than risk-on sentiment which also saw other emerging market currencies benefiting," said Iquad Treasury trader Tony van Dyk.Analysts have divided Brexit into a "hard" and "soft" scenario, with the weakening pound indicating the market is leaning towards an eventual "hard" outcome, meaning the UK economy would be affected negatively.While a weaker pound m...
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