THE rand eased as the US dollar firmed in anticipation of a hawkish Fed minutes, which is due for release soon, according to NKC Research.
Promising to be the highlight of the day, all attention will be directed towards the release of the minutes from the June FOMC meeting tomorrow, which will hopefully provide clues on how hawkish the policy pivot is.
The hawkish shift in the Fed outlook should lift rates out through the intermediate sector of the curve, which will lift the five-year yield toward the early April high just below 1 percent.
At the close of local trade, the rand quoted 1.1 percent weaker, at R14.35/$, after trading in range of R14.17/$ to R14.39/$. The rand ticked higher overnight. The expected range of the rand against the dollar today is R14.20/$ to R14.50/$.
South African bourse
The JSE All Share (-0.48 percent) ended lower yesterday, a closer look shows that technology (+1.12 percent) ticked higher while resources (-1.56 percent) shares slipped. The MSCI Emerging Market Index (-0.07 percent) traded lower.
Brent crude oil
The Brent oil price traded at multiyear highs on Tuesday as Opec+ producers struggled to reach agreement, but lost momentum afterwards. At the close of local trade, benchmark Brent crude futures quoted 2.88 percent lower, at $75.1pb. Crude prices traded on the back foot during Asian trade this morning.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE