Although yesterday’s retail sales and jobless claims figures trumped expectations, allowing the ‘Greenback’ to gain on some of its most traded rivals, the Rand held steady as Asian equity markets recovered and the European session began on Friday.
At the current exchange rate 1 US Dollar will purchase 9.8799 South African Rand as of 10:50 GMT
The Rand has eased away from recent four-year lows to trade in the region of 9.8686, benefiting from a rebounding appetite for South African bonds and climbing commodity prices.
According to one local currency expert: ‘Some days the Rand can do no good and other days it can do no bad. Today is one of those days when the Rand becomes Teflon coated and shrugs off the bad news, while tomorrow everything sticks.’
The Rand briefly strengthened to 9.7863 during the local session
However, with South African markets closed on Monday for a national holiday the Rand is likely to experience additional fluctuations in the hours ahead.
As the commodity-driven currency tracks the Euro it may be adversely affected by this morning’s worse than anticipated employment figures for the Eurozone.
Although economists had anticipated that employment in the currency bloc would dip in the first quarter of the year the 0.5 per cent decline was worse than the 0.2 per cent drop forecast and significantly more than the previous quarter’s 0.3 per cent drop. Year-on-year, employment was down 1 per cent in the Eurozone.
A separate report showed that the Eurozone’s consumer price index met expectations.
The USD/ZAR pairing could also fluctuate in the hours ahead in response to US news, including industrial and manufacturing production figures for the North American nation.
The next pieces of influential South African data, current account and inflation rate, are scheduled for release next Wednesday.
Current South African Rand (ZAR) Exchange Rates
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The US Dollar/South African Rand Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 9.8799 >
The Pound Sterling/South African Rand Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 15.4411 <
The Euro/South African Rand Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 13.1731 >
The Australian Dollar/South African Rand Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 9.4851 <
The New Zealand Dollar/South African Rand Exchange Rate is currently in the region of 7.9492 <
The Canadian Dollar/South African Rand Exchange Rate is currently trading in the region of 9.7193 >
(Correct as of 10:50 GMT)
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