Fitch downgrade still haunts rand

Graphic: renjith krishnan

Graphic: renjith krishnan

Published Jan 14, 2013

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The rand remained weak against the US dollar before noon on Monday as the recent Fitch downgrade weighed heavily on the local currency.

“We are still reeling from the Fitch downgrade‚ however there has been some improved sentiment because of potential policy changes‚” Vunani Private Clients global market analyst Kuziva Muganiwa said.

At 11.31am‚ the rand was bid at R8.7008 to the US dollar from its previous close of R8.6566 on Friday. The local currency was bid at R11.6259 to the euro from its previous close of R11.4872 and at R14.0245 against sterling from R13.9807 before.

The euro was bid at $1.3373 from its overnight close of $1.3272.

“The announcement by the department of labour that they will hold public hearings about minimum wage should help to mitigate the effect that the strikes in the Western Cape are having on the rand. Government is coming out clearly in response to the strikes – something they haven’t done yet‚” he said. - I-Net Bridge

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