eBusiness Weekly
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s rand firmed early on Tuesday, gaining back some of the ground lost in the previous session after emerging markets were knocked by a retreat in risk demand as trade tensions between Washington and Beijing rose.
At 0625 GMT, the rand traded at 13.3950 per dollar, 0.33 percent firmer than its overnight close.
The rand has seen volatile trade over the past week, breaking through the 13.10 level to a seven-week best before sliding back to near 13.50, an inflection point traders have targeted to gauge the currency’s longer term trend.
“Foreign exchange markets over the most recent past relatively subdued, emerging markets largely driven by the on-going trade war talk,” Nedbank analysts said in a note.
Some analysts see trade tensions supporting the dollar as the United States economy is better placed to handle protectionism than emerging markets, and as tariffs may narrow the U.S. trade deficit.
Local focus on June manufacturing data due at 1100 GMT.
In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark bond due in 2026 was flat at 8.735 percent. – Reuters Africa
