The South African Rand was trading firmer against the Pound on Monday after the UK currency slipped against the majority of its most traded peers on a day devoid of domestic or major global economic data releases.
The Rand softened against the US Dollar early in the session and was under pressure against the Euro and other peers following the release of data out of China which cast doubt over the strength of the world’s second biggest economy.
China is one of South Africa’s biggest and one of the most important trading partners. The Asian nation reported weaker than expected export data for February and saw its trade balance swing about from positive to negative. A report also showed that consumer prices increased at the slowest pace in 13 months.
The main focus for South African Rand investors this week will be the release of the latest data for the nation’s current account for the fourth quarter of last year. The data which is due for release on Wednesday will give economists a more rounded overview of the health of Africa’s biggest economy. The report is likely to show that the nation’s economy was badly hit by multiple worker disputes and power outages.
In the third quarter of 2013 the South African current account widened to its biggest gap in five years. If Wednesday’s figures come in worse than that we can expect the Rand to take a tumble against most of its peers.
Thursday will see the release of the latest mining and manufacturing production data. Mining in particular will be of interest as it will highlight the impact of the ongoing strike in the platinum mining sector.
South African Rand (ZAR) Exchange Rates
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
Pound Sterling,
,South African Rand,17.8624 ,
Euro,,South African Rand,14.8847 ,
US Dollar,,South African Rand,10.6790 ,
Australian Dollar,,South African Rand,9.6873 ,
[/table]
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