The rand was weaker in early trade on Friday from overnight closing levels‚ with traders saying the local currency might push above the 8.20 level to the US dollar on the back of euro/US dollar weakness.
At 9.31am local time the rand was bid at R8.1640 to the dollar from Thursday’s close of R8.0793. It was bid at R10.0092 to the euro from its previous close of R9.9415 and at R12.7210 against sterling from R12.6290 before.
The euro was bid at US$1.2264 from $1.2303.
Absa Capital said in a note that the rand could be headed for a fresh bout of weakness going into the weekend due to risk aversion following China’s weaker trade balance data.
“That said‚ if the market interprets the aforementioned weak global data to mean an increased chance of more co-ordinated stimulus from global authorities‚ then risky assets could ironically maintain the bulk of their recent gains. - I-Net Bridge