Middle East & Africa
Thursday, 23 May 2013 11:52
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JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand fell more than 1.2 percent to a fresh 4-year low against the dollar on Thursday, largely tracking a retreat in high-yielding currencies after the US Federal Reserve signalled a scale-back of its stimulus drive.The slide will stoke concerns about imported inflation pressures and all but shuts the door on a rate cut when the South African Reserve Bank concludes its third policy meeting of the year later in the day.The rand hit 9.6980/dollar, the weakest it has been since March 31, 2009. It was the steepest faller against the greenback among 20 emerging market currencies tracked by Reuters.By 0644 GMT the local unit had pulled back slightly to 9.67, still down 1 percent on the day."It's a reflection of Ben Bernanke's comments yesterday," said John Cairns, a currency strategist at Rand Merchant Bank.The Federal Reserve chairman said the bank could "in the next few meetings take ...
KAMPALA: The Ugandan shilling weakened for a third day running on Tuesday, kept under pressure from demand for dollars from fuel importers.At 0911 GMT, commercial banks quoted the currency at 2,610/2,620, down from Tuesday's close of 2,600/2,610."Fuel importers are in the market buying a lot of dollars," said Sage Muganza Daniel, trader at Centenary Bank."I think some of them are panicking that the shilling will weaken a bit more sharply so they don't want to ...
LONDON: The euro rose to a 3-1/2 year peak against the yen and a four-month high against the Swiss franc on Wednesday as investors demand for safe-haven currencies waned on falling borrowing costs for indebted euro zone countries.The euro rose to 133.14 yen, pushing past a reported option barrier at 133 yen to trade at its highest since January 2010. So far this year, the euro is up 16 percent.The euro also rose to 1.2546 ...
NAIROBI: The Kenyan shilling weakened to a six-week low early on Wednesday due to increased demand for dollars by importers and other corporate clients to meet end-of-month commitments.At 0728 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling down 0.4 percent at 84.45/65 per dollar, off an intraday low of 84.50/70 that was its lowest since April 10."As we approach end-month, demand (for dollars) from corporates has increased, with no significant inflows to counter it," said Duncan Kinuthia, ...
JOHANNESBURG: The rand weakened near a four-year low against the dollar early on Wednesday, stung by concerns about labour unrest, but market players said it was unlikely to fall much further while investors awaited domestic inflation data.The rand fell 0.4 percent to 9.5900 early in the session. It hit a four-year low of 9.61 on Tuesday, dragged down by worries about labour tension in the mining industry and a firm dollar.Dealers expect a rebound from ...
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