The rand was steady shortly before midday on Monday, with market activity somewhat subdued by the US market closure for Martin Luther King Day. The reduced volatility from the US markets closure comes ahead of a litany of domestic and international risk events this week, with cautious trade expected. The rand had now traded in a steady range for two weeks, which was rare, taking place in an environment of general dollar weakness, said Standard Bank trader Warrick Butler. The uncertainty around what the ANC national executive committee had planned with regards to the exit of President Jacob Zuma had meant a lack of direction, said Butler. This combined with a domestic market that was still shrugging off the effects of our summer holiday season. But the rand hardly budged following the speech by ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday. Rand steadiness in a backdrop of a supportive environment for risk-on currencies suggested that rand gains in December may have been overdone, said R...
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