SA rand prices up

A man holds new South African banknotes at the value of ten, twenty, fifty, one hundred and two hundred South African Rand depicting former South African president Nelson Mandela at The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on July 13, 2018 in Pretoria, South Africa. The South African Reserve Bank in celebration of the centenary of Mandela's birth launched its first commemorative banknote series. The larger than normal notes, namely the R10, R20, R50, R100 and R200, depict Mandela's historical journey from his birthplace to his last days. / AFP PHOTO / Phill Magakoe

JOHANNESBURG. — South Africa’s rand clung to recent gains early yesterday as global risk appetite retreated after the United States central bank played down expectations of aggressive interest-rate cuts.

At 0645 GMT, the rand was up 0,19 percent at 14,3300 per dollar from an overnight close of 14,3575. Lack of local economic data and a political lull kept the currency in a narrow range.

The early session was mixed for emerging-market currencies, with most Asian currencies slipping back while commodity-backed currencies remained steady.

“Yesterday evening saw speeches from a few Fed officials tempering down the possibility of US rate cuts at the July meeting,” said Oliver Alwar said, a senior trader at Standard Bank. “This resulted in EM currencies relinquishing some gains, global equities retreating and the dollar come back to a small degree.”

On Tuesday, members of the Federal Reserve’s policy committee toned down the outlook for rates, with St Louis Fed President James Bullard saying a 50-basis-point rate cut “would be overdone.”

Investors still expect a cut of at least a quarter point at the bank’s July meeting.
Bonds were flat, with the yield on the benchmark bond due in 2026 down 0,5 basis points to 8,165 percent. — Reuters Africa.