The rand was slightly softer against major global currencies on Monday morning, ahead of key risk events later in the week.
US President Donald Trump delivers his state of the nation address on Tuesday, which may include details on how he will proceed with border wall funding, an issue that continues to threaten a government shutdown in that country.
Locally, all eyes will be on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address on Thursday. The address comes ahead of finance minister Tito Mboweni’s budget on February 20, which will give some idea of the progress being made in fiscal consolidation.
At 9.45am the rand 0.28% weaker at R13.3662/$, 0.18% softer at R15.2933/€ and 0.31% weaker at R17.4807/£. The euro was flat at $1.1441.
The rand can be expected to continue to trade in narrow ranges ahead of the addresses later in the week, said TreasuryOne senior currency dealer Andre Botha.
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