The Pound Sterling to South African Rand (GBP/ZAR) exchange rate has softened by around -0.20% on Tuesday. This can be attributed to mounting negative sentiment towards the Bank of England after Deputy Governor Minouche Shafik stood firm behind the policymakers’ decision to hold the benchmark interest rate. Meanwhile, the South African Rand has experienced minimal volatility due to a sparse economic docket.
The Pound Sterling to South African Rand exchange rate is currently trending in the region of 17.6160.
As one of the front runners for monetary policy normalisation, in accordance with futures traders, the Bank of England’s decision to hold rates without giving a clear timeframe for their adjustment has been met with particularly negative sentiment. The most recent set of meeting minutes indicated that the majority of the rate-setters were holding firm with their policy of sustained low interest rates.
A distinct lack of influential South African economic data, meanwhile, has seen the Rand struggle to make any significant gains against its major peers. Improved trader risk sentiment, however, has helped the South African Rand avoid any huge declination.
The Pound Sterling to South African Rand exchange rate has dropped to a low today of 17.5700.
On Tuesday, sentiment towards the Bank of England has taken another dive into negative territory after Deputy Governor Minouche Shafik gave a speech outlining trader malpractice within financial markets. Scott Hamilton, writing for Bloomberg, explains; ‘Describing the behaviour of some traders as ‘truly shocking,’ the head of markets and banking at the BOE said confidence in fixed income, currency and commodity markets has been damaged by ‘unacceptable abuses.’
Further negative sentiment was as a result of Shafik’s stance on monetary policy. Andy Bruce, writing for Reuters, stated; ‘In an interview with the Financial Times, Shafik said she saw ‘no significant evidence’ that price pressures were mounting and that slack remained in the labour market – her most explicit comments on monetary policy since her appointment in August.’
In yet another day with nothing in terms of South African data to drive Rand movement, the emerging-market currency has generally softened against the majority of its most traded currency rivals.
Pound to South African Rand Exchange Rate Forecast to Strengthen
Although Wednesday will see South Africa publish Private Sector Credit data, it has little weighting in terms of its influence over wider market movement. British data, however, does hold enough weighting to spark volatility and may cause GBP/ZAR exchange rate fluctuations.
The Pound Sterling to South African Rand exchange rate has advanced to a high today of 17.6660.
South African Rand (ZAR) Exchange Rates
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
South African Rand,
,US Dollar,0.0915,
South African Rand,,Euro,0.0720,
South African Rand,,Pound,0.0568,
South African Rand,,Australian Dollar,0.1036,
US Dollar,,South African Rand,10.9190,
Euro,,South African Rand,13.8781,
Pound Sterling,,South African Rand,17.6083,
Australian Dollar,,South African Rand,9.6556,
[/table]
