THE rand slipped weaker amid weak risk appetite, and as markets digested the dovish comments by the South African Reserve Bank, with the monetary regulator indicating on Thursday that an accommodative policy stance would be maintained through end-2022, according to NKC Research.
The attention this week will be on the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. We foresee no major change in the FOMC policy statement and expect chairperson Jerome Powell will retain a very dovish tone even as the FOMC pivots away from its “extremely dovish and patient” stance.
At close of local trade, the rand depreciated by 0.4 percent, at R14.79/$, after trading in range of R14.69/$ to R14.79/$. The rand traded weaker overnight. The expected range of the rand against the dollar today is R14.40/$ to R15.10/$.
South African bourse
The JSE All Share (+1.0 percent) ended higher on Friday. In local news, Telkom (-2.6 percent) stock stumbled on news that its chief executive would step down. In the overall emerging market sphere, most stocks registered losses as a surge in Covid-19 cases could hamper the economic recovery. MSCI Emerging Market Index (-1.1 percent) traded lower.
Brent crude oil
On Friday, the Brent oil price traded higher after a solid recovery from last Monday's slide, supported by expectations that supply would remain tight as demand recovers. At the close of local trade, benchmark Brent crude futures quoted 0.3 percent higher, at $73.6pb. During Asian trading hours, crude prices traded weaker.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE