The rand turned positive in midmorning on Wednesday after a shaky start in the Asian session, highlighting the fluidity of the global markets. The local currency has had a rollercoaster ride since at least Friday, crossing R15 to the dollar for the first time in two years at one stage, raising inflation concerns It has since recovered substantially from those low levels, which some analysts considered to be overdone and unjustifiable. "Manic Monday’s sell-off in emerging markets created an ideal buying opportunity on Tuesday, as fears regarding a continued emerging-markets sell-off started to dissipate," Rand Merchant Bank analyst Michelle Wohlberg said in a note. "This resulted in a very strong South African government bond auction. … Both local and foreign investors were reported as net buyers on the day, as emerging markets recouped some of their losses." However, on Wednesday morning, the rand was caught up in the two conflicting scenarios: the stabilising lira on one hand and t...
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