Rand weakens as geopolitical risks take toll
A weakening Turkish lira as a result of political battles in that country is adding to pressure on the rand, with risk-assets globally falling out of favour
The rand was weaker against major global currencies on Tuesday afternoon, with global sentiment subdued as investors weighed the costs of protracted geopolitical tension. Sentiment may finally be caving under the weight of numerous underlying risk factors in the markets right now, such as US interest rates, Brexit, Italian debt, trade wars or emerging markets, said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam. The lira was sharply lower on Tuesday, weakening after Turkey's main nationalist party leader announced his party would not seek an alliance with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party in local elections, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Investors were seemingly more interested in safe-haven assets, analysts said, including the Japanese yen, gold and US treasuries. Local focus remains on Wednesday's medium-term budget policy statement, but other risk factors on the day include local inflation data and a meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB was on track for policy normalisation, altho...
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