The rand had picked up strength against the dollar on Thursday just before midday, breaking through the R14.36 level, confirming the trend. The local currency was steady in earlier sessions, trading at R14.38/$ at 9.02am but had gained about 13c to the dollar before midday. Local political risk has subsided but concerns about a credit-ratings downgrade next week still linger. Pressure on the dollar amid concern that US President Donald Trump’s tax reform plans may not materialise, has mildly contributed to the rand’s gains. TreasuryOne currency dealer Andre Botha said that the rand was actually trading alongside other emerging market currencies and the recent pullback was because it was overextended after rumours, which fuelled political risk over the weekend but which had subsided over the past couple of days. At 11.30am the rand was at R14.2674 to the dollar from R14.3944‚ at R16.8018 to the euro from R16.9710‚ and at R18.7869 to the pound from R18.9578. The euro was at $1.1777 fr...
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