The rand was weaker against the dollar on Wednesday afternoon, shedding some of its earlier gains as risk-off sentiment hit markets. The rand’s rally ran out of steam as the dollar came off its weakest levels, despite commodity prices continuing to rise. TreasuryOne dealer Phillip Pearce said recent momentum in the local currency was driven by dollar weakness. Rand Merchant Bank analyst John Cairns said the dollar’s weakness was mainly a reflection of economics. US data "painted a mixed picture overnight", with good gains in industrial production but weakness in the housing data. The pricing in of a June interest-rate increase has receded with the chances of two or more increases this year now down to 45%, from 56% a week ago. At 3.34pm‚ the rand was at R13.1943 to the dollar from Tuesday’s R13.0576‚ at R14.6506 to the euro from R14.4752, and at R17.0927 to the pound from R16.8639. The euro was at $1.1104 from $1.1085.
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