Rand steady

The rand was steady on Thursday afternoon, largely holding onto some gains made overnight, when dovish US Federal Reserve minutes put some pressure on the dollar.

Risk-on trade seen earlier in the week was cooling a little, analysts said, as an air of caution returned following a rally this week prompted by developments in the US-China trade negotiations.

At 2pm, the rand was 0.27% weaker to the dollar at R13.8967 and 0.13% weaker to the euro at R16.0195, while it was 0.13% firmer to the pound at R17.7038. The euro was at $1.1527.

The pound was under some pressure after UK parliamentarians voted in favour of a resolution demanding that a new Brexit plan be formulated, within three days, should they reject UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s draft plan next week. Global markets have been boosted this week by positive US-China trade talks, although analysts have noted that these were between mid-level officials. Further high-level talks are also in the offing, although US President Donald Trump has said he is confident a deal could be struck [without him]. — BusinessDay