Rand remains under pressure
The rand slumped to almost R16.84/$ early on Thursday morning – its weakest level since October 2020.
By mid-morning, it was trading at R16.78 to the dollar, at R20.09 to the pound and at R17.13 to the euro.
Investors are weighing the risks of a US recession with the Federal Reserve hiking rates aggressively. Minutes of June's Fed meeting released on Wednesday - when policy makers tightened by 75 basis points, the most since 1994 - revealed their concern that worsening inflation would erase faith in the Fed's ability to control it.
The minutes revealed exactly what markets had been fearing and what has caused the massive sell-off in markets over the last two days, says André Cilliers, Currency Strategist at TreasuryONE.
"The Fed will continue to take a hard-line stance against high inflation, and a 75bps rate hike would 'likely be appropriate' at this month's meeting, even if this might push the US into a recession."
Some lacklustre economic data has raised speculation that tighter conditions were already producing an effect, but data overnight showed US job openings fell less than expected in May, pointing to a still tight labour market that could keep the Fed on the offensive.
The next major US economic release will be Friday's jobs report for June. Economists polled by Reuters expect employers to have added 268 000 non-farm payrolls during the month. The dollar index - which measures the currency against six counterparts - slipped 0.22% to 106.82, pulling away from the overnight peak at 107.27, a level not seen since late 2002.
Risk-based assets like the rand continue to bear the brunt of dollar strength and the market’s recession fears, says Bianca Botes, director at Citadel Global. - Fin24
By mid-morning, it was trading at R16.78 to the dollar, at R20.09 to the pound and at R17.13 to the euro.
Investors are weighing the risks of a US recession with the Federal Reserve hiking rates aggressively. Minutes of June's Fed meeting released on Wednesday - when policy makers tightened by 75 basis points, the most since 1994 - revealed their concern that worsening inflation would erase faith in the Fed's ability to control it.
The minutes revealed exactly what markets had been fearing and what has caused the massive sell-off in markets over the last two days, says André Cilliers, Currency Strategist at TreasuryONE.
"The Fed will continue to take a hard-line stance against high inflation, and a 75bps rate hike would 'likely be appropriate' at this month's meeting, even if this might push the US into a recession."
Some lacklustre economic data has raised speculation that tighter conditions were already producing an effect, but data overnight showed US job openings fell less than expected in May, pointing to a still tight labour market that could keep the Fed on the offensive.
The next major US economic release will be Friday's jobs report for June. Economists polled by Reuters expect employers to have added 268 000 non-farm payrolls during the month. The dollar index - which measures the currency against six counterparts - slipped 0.22% to 106.82, pulling away from the overnight peak at 107.27, a level not seen since late 2002.
Risk-based assets like the rand continue to bear the brunt of dollar strength and the market’s recession fears, says Bianca Botes, director at Citadel Global. - Fin24
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