‘Vulnerable’ rand shows belated improvement against the dollar
After showing little initial reaction to GDP growth data, the rand improves marginally in late afternoon trade to R12.90
The rand was a little stronger on Tuesday afternoon following the release of the better-than-expected GDP growth data for the second quarter. The rand showed little initial reaction to the data after it was released shortly before midday, trading largely unchanged at about R12.95 to the dollar, before firming to R12.8823 later in the afternoon. The flat dollar provided little direction, with the euro stable at $1.1894. GDP grew 2.5% in the second quarter from the first quarter. The boost came in part from the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, which increased by 33.6% and contributed 0.7 percentage points to GDP growth. Peregrine Treasury Solutions analyst Bianca Botes said the rand had remained fairly flat leading up to and following the GDP data release. "We saw a move from R12.97 to R12.94 to the dollar," she said, adding that though the GDP figures were slightly better than expected, a positive outcome had been priced in. At 3.30pm, the rand was at R12.9027 to the dollar ...
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