The Pound Sterling (GBP) has risen by 0.3% against the South African Rand (GBP/ZAR) today; elsewhere the Pound has crashed catastrophically following the revelation that the Bank of England (BoE) watchdog the Independent Evaluation Office (IOE) has published no reports or shown any signs of independence from the organisation it is meant to govern.
European Calamity Spills over to Rand’s Territory as Platinum Price Drop Cripples ZAR
Although the Pound (GBP) has fared incredibly poorly against the majority of its rivals today, the fact that a rise has been recorded against the Rand (GBP/ZAR) is due to the price of platinum nosediving due to the ongoing emissions scandal focused around Volkswagen. This dissipation of demand is due to platinum being a key component of catalytic converters in diesel cars; the extent of the trouble caused by VW’s falsification of emissions data has caused some speculators to forecast this as the beginning of the end for diesel cars in their entirety.
Tomorrow brings the last UK result of the week, the BBA Loans for House Purchases. Expectations are positive and given that the VW scandal is unlikely to abate any time soon, the continuing low price of platinum may combine to keep Sterling in an advantageous position against the Rand (ZAR).
Earlier…
The Pound Sterling to South African Rand (GBP/ZAR) exchange rate has dipped slightly today, although the loss has been mitigated by the fact that Sterling (GBP) is currently trending near to its best rate against the Rand (ZAR) in over 10 years.
GBP/ZAR Exchange Rate News: Absence of UK Data puts Sterling in the Doldrums
The Pound Sterling (GBP) has fallen by -0.2% against the South African Rand (GBP/ZAR) today, although as mentioned, the current exchange rate of 20.9760 is not a world away from the printing of 21.4269 two weeks ago, the best exchange rate for Sterling in a period of over 10 years. The Pound has, for the most part, trended narrowly against many of its rivals today; notable exceptions have been rises of 0.2% against the Singapore Dollar (GBP/SGD) and 0.4% against the Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) and falls of -0.5% against the Hungarian Forint (GBP/HUF) and the Egyptian Pound (GBP/EGP).
Apart from yesterday’s disheartening expansion of the UK debt level, the Pound has been most recently affected by Chancellor George Osborne’s ongoing visit to China. On the fourth of five days, Osborne has travelled to the Xinjiang region as part of an effort to bolster economic ties with the Asian superpower. Although Osborne favourably said: ‘China’s emerging regions, like Xinjiang, hold enormous potential ahead’, the overall positivity was marred by the fact that the region has developed a reputation for religious persecution, particularly against the majority Uighur Muslims.
Bolstering of ZAR-GBP Exchange Rate Today due to Foreign Investment and SARB Interest Rate Optimism
The South African Rand (ZAR) has risen to 0.0477 against the Pound Sterling (ZAR/GBP) today. While this is a small gain, the Rand is still trending around the region of 0.0466 reached two weeks ago, its worst rate in over 10 years. As the price of gold has made only minor positive movement today and the price of platinum has dived from almost $975 on Monday to under $940 today, in addition to South African inflation slowing down, the Rand’s positive performance can only be attributed to two factors. These are a pledge by the Japanese government to train at least 100 South African students in engineering over the next year, in addition to speculation that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will not be raising interest rates today, owing to the Fed decision last week to leave the US interest rate on hold.
The Euro (EUR) has trended narrowly against the Rand (EUR/ZAR) today, seeing a posting of 15.2010. The US Dollar (USD) has done the same, printing at 13.6765 against the Rand (USD/ZAR).
GBP/ZAR Exchange Rate Forecast: SARB Interest Rate Decision to Set the Stage Today
The Pound (GBP) and the Rand (ZAR) are sorely lacking in domestic market-moving data this week – the last South African results come today while the last UK publication is due out tomorrow. The SARB Interest Rate Decision is due this afternoon and if forecasts of a freeze at 6% are accurate, it remains a possibility that the Rand will rally. Tomorrow, the UK BBA Loans for House Purchases figures are due. Predictions are positive, with a rise from 46033 to 47000 on the cards.
Current GBP, ZAR Exchange Rates
The Pound Sterling to South African Rand (GBP/ZAR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 20.9600 and the South African Rand to Pound Sterling (ZAR/GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.0477 today.
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