Rand Holds Steady Amidst Global Uncertainty
The South African rand traded without significant movement in early trade on Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of crucial U.S. jobless claims data.
The currency held steady at 18.41 against the dollar, mirroring its previous day’s closing price.
The local market has been on edge since a sharp decline on Monday, triggered by global concerns over a potential U.S. recession.
While the rand and other South African assets have shown signs of recovery since then, analysts warn that investor sentiment remains fragile.
Andre Cilliers, currency strategist at TreasuryONE, emphasized the market’s sensitivity to any negative news that could signal a U.S. downturn.
“Currency and commodity markets are maintaining a cautious stance ahead of today’s U.S. jobless claims figure,” he said.
Domestically, investors are also awaiting the release of June manufacturing output figures by Statistics South Africa, scheduled for 1100 GMT. Analysts anticipate a year-on-year contraction of 0.9% and a month-on-month expansion of 1.3%.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 index experienced a slight decline of approximately 0.5% in early trading. Additionally, the benchmark 2030 government bond weakened, with its yield rising by 3.5 basis points to 9.415%.
Source: CNBC AFRICA
