Rand extends gains as global mood perks up

The rand extended gains at midday on Tuesday‚ with a broad recovery in equity markets outweighing the weak domestic gross domestic product.

The domestic unit‚ which hit record lows to the dollar on Monday‚ just above the R14 mark‚ benefited the all share index‚ which was more than 2% firmer in line with European markets.

Bidvest Bank chief currency dealer Ion de Vleeschauwer still remained cautious about the rand‚ adding that "SA is one step closer to technical recession".

Economic growth decreased by a seasonally adjusted and annualised rate of 1.3% in the second quarter compared with an increase of 1.3% in the first quarter of this year‚ according to Stats SA data.

At 11.51am the rand was at R13.0866 against the dollar from a previous close of R13.2330.

Against the euro the rand was at R15.0964 from a previous close of R15.3721. Against the pound‚ the rand was at R20.6913 from R20.8719.

The euro was at $1.1535 from $1.1620 previously.

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