The rand traded at R12.35 to the dollar at 8.45am on Thursday‚ strengthening from R12.40 at 7.30am.
The local currency was at R14.86 per euro and R16.71 a pound.
The rand managed to hold on to Wednesday’s gains despite the dollar rising in tandem with oil.
The Brent crude price was up 0.3% to $68.14 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was up 0.4% to $62.11 a barrel. Political protests in Iran raised concern about supply disruptions.
The dollar also strengthened following the release of the US Federal Reserve’s December red book — the minutes of its monetary policy committee meeting on December 13‚ when the upper ceiling of the central bank’s interest rate was raised to 1.5% from 1.25%.
The minutes were described as “more hawkish than anticipated”‚ indicating that the Fed may continue raising interest rates in 2018.
Rand makes good early gains to the dollar
The local currency was at R14.86 per euro and R16.71 a pound.
The rand managed to hold on to Wednesday’s gains despite the dollar rising in tandem with oil.
The Brent crude price was up 0.3% to $68.14 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was up 0.4% to $62.11 a barrel. Political protests in Iran raised concern about supply disruptions.
The dollar also strengthened following the release of the US Federal Reserve’s December red book — the minutes of its monetary policy committee meeting on December 13‚ when the upper ceiling of the central bank’s interest rate was raised to 1.5% from 1.25%.
The minutes were described as “more hawkish than anticipated”‚ indicating that the Fed may continue raising interest rates in 2018.
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