The rand was slightly weaker on Tuesday afternoon, faring better than its emerging-market counterparts, however, as the US-China trade war continues to hog the spotlight. Sentiment improved a little on Tuesday as a result of a softer tone from US officials regarding the blacklisting of Huawei. The Chinese tech-giant has been given a temporary 90-day right to use Google’s operating system, Android, which has reduced fears of retaliation from Beijing. Emerging-market currencies, however, continue to be buffeted by trade-war headlines, with analysts expecting pressure on riskier assets to continue for weeks, or perhaps even months. At 2pm, the rand had weakened 0.37% to R14.4375/$, 0.2% to R16.0926/€, and 0.21% to R18.3381/£. The euro was 0.17% weaker at $1.1147. The pound is now at a four-month low against the dollar, as investors priced in yet another failure by UK Prime Minister Theresa May to get her Brexit deal through the British parliament. Although global markets have not fully...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.