Rand Update
After threatening to test the R13.50 level, the Rand ran into a bit of a stiff breeze in the form of the US dollar. We saw the Rand lose some ground with a bit of US dollar strength and is currently trading at R13.70. It will be interesting to see whether the Rand test this week’s high of R13.76 as we enter the evening session. A lot will depend on whether the US dollar breaks through the 1.21 level and carries some of the momentum should it break.
Commodity Update
Commodities have remained fairly flat, with Gold the biggest mover of the day as the yellow metal lost almost 1%. Gold trading around the $1,880 level while Platinum and Palladium are both slightly higher, $1,154 and $2,787, respectively. The price of Brent crude trades above is slightly higher and looking to break above $73.00 a barrel and is trading at $72.81 at the moment.
International Update
As we stated at the start, the US dollar is a bit on a firming trend this afternoon as the greenback looks to break 1.21 against the Euro. With little in the way of US data, we believe that it’s a bit of aftershock from yesterday’s CPI print and a dovish ECB that has caused the rally in the US dollar. A little bit of “risk-off” on the equity front with both the Dow and S&P 500 struggling to get out of bed in early morning trade. It seems that there is a little negative sentiment washing through the market, and we could see the Rand on the back foot heading into next week.
Currencies and Markets
EUR-USD / 1.2110
EUR-ZAR / 16.5659
GBP-USD / 1.4123
GBP-ZAR / 19.3196
AUD-ZAR / 10.5346
CAD-ZAR / 11.2653
CNY-ZAR / 2.1378
ZAR-JPY / 8.0127
CHF-ZAR / 15.2164
USD-AOA / 645.53
R186 / 7.12%
US 10 Year / 1.46%
JSE / 0.37%
FTSE / 0.73%
S&P 500 / -0.03%
Commodities
Plat / $1 154.34
Plad / $2 788.14
Rhod / $22 290.00
Irid / $6 090.00
Ruth / $768.00
Copp / $10 029.25
Brent / $72.84
Iron Ore 62.5% / $211.91
Coal API4 / $114.50
Gold ZAR / R25 766.15
Plat / ZAR R15 795.07
*Brought to you by TreasuryOne.
