JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar on Tuesday, with investors betting that continued weakness in global growth will lead to co-ordinated monetary stimulus from central banks, which would boost emerging markets assets such as the rand.
The local unit was traded at 8.1275 per dollar at 0636 GMT, 0.45 percent higher than its close in New York on Monday but still within a 10 cent trading range set on Friday.
"The market is stuck at the moment, waiting for further news from the central banks," said David Gracey, a currency trader for Investec.
Some market players have taken the view that if global growth continues to be soft, it increases the possibility that central banks such as the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank will stage coordinated monetary stimulus to try and revive their economies.
"The rand is firming because of the potential for further stimulus measures - in other words, a debasing of the major currencies. The rand would do well against those currencies, and the gold price has also risen in anticipation of that," Investec's Gracey said.
Rand bulls seem to have surrendered at the 8.07 level hit in Friday and Monday's sessions, pulling back in what analysts say is a technical correction from overbought levels last week.
It needs to break through 8.20 support on the weaker end and 8.06/05 resistance to see further gains.
In absence of any local data until Wednesday, the rand is likely to take direction from global developments in this session.
The euro zone will release GDP numbers and the United States releases retail sales amongst a spew of international data due later in the session.
Worse-than-expected data is likely to temporarily depress emerging market currencies but they will get support from expectations that those central banks will act to stimulate their weak economies.
Locally the Treasury will sell 2.1 billion rand ($257.77 million)in government paper. Results are due after action closes at 0900 GMT.
Yields were slightly higher partly due to auction positioning, at 5.7 percent on the 2015 note and 7.485 percent on the 2026 issue.
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