SOUTH AFRICA: Rand retraces some recent losses as dollar rally pauses

The rand relatively stable on Tuesday morning, having clawed back some of its recent losses against the dollar, which has been the currency of choice over the past two weeks.

The local currency,
which is most sensitive to global risk sentiment, has regained about 20c against the dollar in the past 24 hours as traders trimmed their bullish bets on the greenback.
"The US market juggernaut has stalled, justifying some rand gains. While Wall Street managed new highs, medium-and long-term treasury yields have stabilised and the dollar weakened," said Rand Merchant Bank currency strategist John Cairns.

The stronger rand helps rein in consumer inflation, which still hovers around the upper limit of the Reserve’s Bank 3%-6% target range.
Statistics SA will update the inflation figures on Wednesday, with Trading Economics expecting inflation to have steadied at an annual rate of 6.1% in October, unchanged from September.
Standard Bank trader Warrick Butler said the rand appeared content in the R14/$-14.50/$ range, given the potential event risks in the next two weeks.

These include rating decisions from Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings.
At 9am, the rand was at R14.2383 to the dollar from Monday’s R14.2266. It was at R15.1147 to the euro from R15.1204 and R17.7698 to the pound from R17.7710
The euro was at $1.0615, from $1.0627.

By Andries Mahlangu/ BDlive