Rand gains ground following local rate decision
The rand was firmer on Friday morning following a 50 basis point increase in the repo rate. However‚ Standard Bank analysts said although the rand had rallied‚ there was little change in the underlying fundamentals of the currency. "But rather it appears that the rand has overshot its current fair value‚ which we put closer to R15 rather than R16.50 against the dollar. In fact‚ since last night some of this move may have started already‚" the analysts said.At 8.30am the rand was at R16.0913 against the dollar from R16.2007 previously.Against the euro‚ the rand was at R17.5551 from R17.7254 previously. It was at R23.1740 against the pound from R23.2621 previously.The euro was at $1.0910 from $1.0941 previously.Later in the day‚ investor attention will turn to local trade data.The trade balance is projected to have recorded another surplus in December of about R5bn after a R1.8bn surplus in November. There are normally fewer imports during December as most companies are closed for the holidays‚ while there is usually some growth in exports.- TMG Digital/BDLive..
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