Rand firms after upbeat manufacturing data
Local currency gains against the dollar after manufacturing data for October surprises to the upside, which follows earlier positive mining data
The rand strengthened against major global currencies on Tuesday afternoon, boosted a little by upbeat mining and manufacturing data. Manufacturing in October jumped 3% compared to the same period last year, well ahead of a consensus poll, conducted by Trading Economics, forecasting 0.8% growth. Mining data was also positive, with growth of 0.5% in October, ahead of a consensus forecast of a 1.5% decline. The rand was little changed ahead of the manufacturing data, but swiftly gained a few cents immediately after it was released, extending gains later in the afternoon. At 2pm the rand was 0.68% firmer to the dollar at R14.287, 0.33% against the euro at 16.2798 and 0.32% against the pound at R18.0121. The euro was 0.35% stronger at R1.1395. The benchmark R186 government bond was bid at 9.15% from 9.155%. Sentiment on global markets was recovering a little, after risk assets were heavily sold off on Monday, due to a range of factors. Notable among these was confirmation that UK Prime ...
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