The rand firmed against major global currencies in afternoon trade on Wednesday amid speculation that Dutch right-wing candidate Geert Wilders was losing ground, and with the expected US interest-rate increase to be confirmed later. Dollar softness provided some scope for a marginally firmer euro. "The likelihood of sustainable euro upside, however, remained relatively low as fundamentals continued to be inconsistent against the backdrop of a relatively firmer dollar trend," analysts at Momentum SP Reid said. Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) currency analyst John Cairns said the Dutch far-right PPV party might get fewer seats than expected in the Dutch elections, which would provide some relief to global markets. The US Federal Reserve was expected to raise interest rates in the US late on Wednesday, which would increase demand for the dollar due to higher expected returns on dollar-denominated assets. The pound sofened further against the rand on Wednesday following this week’s announcemen...
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