An unforgettable 24 hours for South African sport down under as first the Springboks bossed the Australian rugby team in Perth after a fairly heated build-up during the week and then Drikus Du Plessis brilliantly retained his MMA title in the same city.? Epic stuff indeed!!!
These are the mid rates at 5:50 today:
Brent Crude = $79.54 per barrel
- SA sport is on the charge and so is the Rand.? If our objective recently was to move below R18.00 to the Dollar that box was firmly ticked last Friday as we opened the day at R17.99 and then went on to hit R17.85 late on as the day’s best level.? We open the new week even better at R17.83.?
- What a run it has been for the Rand and while nothing in the financial world goes in the same direct forever at least we are able to enjoy this rather rare scenario.? And rare it is because with the Rand notching up gains on Friday for the nineth consecutive day that equals our longest winning streak in 13 years stretching all the way back to January 2011 while also making us the best performing currency against the Dollar in a list of 150.? A purple patch of note and we’ll have to see how long it continues, but for now the Rand can certainly take a bow alongside our sporting heros!!!
- The Rand has benefited from local and international developments when putting this run together and while the international headlines will ebb and flow one hopes that the positive local dynamics are here to stay.? With load shedding not only being kept at bay over the winter months but Eskom actually has ample spare capacity to meet electricity demands, and with the local elections being seen favourably by local and international investors alike, Rand based assets are suddenly way more attractive than they were just a few months ago.? Couple this with a Dollar that is on the back foot and that gets us to R17.83 while opening the door for further gains.?
- Speaking of the Dollar, the Dollar Index is heading steadily lower and in so doing setting the platform for Rand gains.? Risk-on sentiment was in full force last week with lower US inflation readings combined with robust retail sales stats all but removing any fears of an impending US recession, and as the bulls came out to play equity prices were pushed significantly higher while the Dollar Index has fallen to 102.22.? The economic calendar was overflowing last week but while the week ahead is light by comparison it is no less interesting as we get a number of FED members speaking, there’s also the FED’s latest minutes released on Wednesday and then the main event is FED Chair Jerome Powell speaking on Friday night.?
- The following is from CNBC and talks Powell’s speech where the market is hoping for clues on policy direction but he’s likely to keep his cards close to his chest, as usual:? The US Dollar was struggling to make headway against its peers on Monday, though it traded in a tight range as investors awaited fresh catalysts this week that could offer clues on the outlook for US interest rates. “Markets will be laser focused to what Powell has to say at the end of this week, and on that, I think it will be a great opportunity for Powell to either endorse or push back market pricing,” said currency strategist Carol Kong at CBA. “I think he’ll at least greenlight a rate cut at the September meeting. If anything, I think he’ll try to retain optionality because we do have some more data before the next meeting.”
- No local market data today.
- Possible USD mid rate trading ranges in the Rand today are R17.70 and R18.00
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