JOHANNESBURG - The rand traded slightly stronger versus the greenback during yesterday’s European trading session according to NKC Research.
The South African currency managed to regain early losses after disappointing Q3 unemployment figures caused the local unit to come under pressure. the rand remained resilient against the trade-weighted USD despite somewhat weaker EM sentiment due to fresh trade war concerns. At the close of local trade, ZAR quoted 0.2 percent stronger at R14.59/$, after trading in the range of R14.55/$ - R14.69/$. The rand traded slightly weaker overnight following weak Chinese factory data. Expected range today R14.50/$ - R14.80/$.
South African bourse
The JSE All Share (-1.1 percent) ended lower yesterday dragged by losses in large mining (-1.5 percent) and consumer goods (-1.1 percent) shares. In the overall emerging market sphere, the MSCI Emerging Market Index (+0.16 percent) traded higher. In local news, large retail companies, such as Shoprite (-2.9 percent) and Massmart (-2.9 percent), tracked subdued global markets lower.
Brent crude oil
The Brent oil price traded sharply lower yesterday, due to signs of rising crude output from Russia, the US and Saudi Arabia. While concerns over the adverse impact of a US-Sino trade war on global growth caused oil prices to slump even further. At the close of local trade, the Brent oil price quoted 1.3 percent lower at $76.07/pb. Crude prices traded little changed during Asian trade this morning.