AIRLINK 81.10 Increased By ▲ 2.55 (3.25%)
BOP 4.82 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (1.05%)
CNERGY 4.09 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-1.68%)
DFML 37.98 Decreased By ▼ -1.31 (-3.33%)
DGKC 93.00 Decreased By ▼ -2.65 (-2.77%)
FCCL 23.84 Decreased By ▼ -0.32 (-1.32%)
FFBL 32.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.77 (-2.35%)
FFL 9.24 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-1.39%)
GGL 10.06 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.89%)
HASCOL 6.65 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (1.68%)
HBL 113.00 Increased By ▲ 3.50 (3.2%)
HUBC 145.70 Increased By ▲ 0.69 (0.48%)
HUMNL 10.54 Decreased By ▼ -0.19 (-1.77%)
KEL 4.62 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-2.33%)
KOSM 4.12 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-3.29%)
MLCF 38.25 Decreased By ▼ -1.15 (-2.92%)
OGDC 131.70 Increased By ▲ 2.45 (1.9%)
PAEL 24.89 Decreased By ▼ -0.98 (-3.79%)
PIBTL 6.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.42%)
PPL 120.00 Decreased By ▼ -2.70 (-2.2%)
PRL 23.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.45 (-1.85%)
PTC 12.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.89 (-6.85%)
SEARL 59.95 Decreased By ▼ -1.23 (-2.01%)
SNGP 65.50 Increased By ▲ 0.30 (0.46%)
SSGC 10.15 Increased By ▲ 0.26 (2.63%)
TELE 7.85 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.13%)
TPLP 9.87 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.2%)
TRG 64.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.08%)
UNITY 26.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.33%)
WTL 1.33 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.76%)
BR100 8,052 Increased By 75.9 (0.95%)
BR30 25,581 Decreased By -21.4 (-0.08%)
KSE100 76,707 Increased By 498.6 (0.65%)
KSE30 24,698 Increased By 260.2 (1.06%)

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand edged firmer early on Friday, lifted by a spell of risk demand after economic growth in the United States slowed, but the currency remained poised for a drop with Moody's expected to cut the country's ratings outlook to negative.

At 0650 GMT, the rand was 0.24 percent firmer at 14.5750 per dollar, having rallied as far as 14.5700 overnight before slowing as caution set in ahead of the decision by Moody's, the last of the top three ratings firms to rate Pretoria's debt at investment grade.

U.S. gross domestic product increased at a 2.2 percent annualised rate, down from the initial estimate of 2.6 percent.

Moody's is indicatively scheduled to review the Baa3 rating and stable outlook it assigns South Africa later on Friday. The other two big rating agencies, S&P and Fitch, have already downgraded the sovereign to "junk".

The electricity crisis that saw state utility Eskom this month impose nationwide rolling blackouts, and an overall meek recovery in economic growth, has however raised the risk of a full downgrade.

On Friday morning the price of 25-delta risk reversals , an indication of the difference in volatility, and therefore price, between puts and calls on the rand, had climbed to a 7-month high as investors sought to buy more protection against a sharp slide in the currency.

Bonds were flat after also rallying in the previous session following the central bank's decision to keep lending rates steady citing a benign inflation outlook. The yield on the benchmark 10-year issue was at 8.695 percent.

Stocks were set to open higher at 0700 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange's Top-40 futures index up 0.44 percent.

Copyright Reuters, 2019
 

Comments

Comments are closed.