Money SA economy
The rand was on the front foot in midday trade on Wednesday, ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to Congress later today.
A local trader said it was difficult to pinpoint the reason for the rand's strength, however he noted that markets were jittery ahead of important economic data expected over the next few days including a decision on interest rates by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
At 11.46am local time the rand was bid at R7.53 to the dollar, R9.68 to the euro and R11.52 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.2832 from $1.2890 overnight.
A local trader said: "Usually we see rand weakness amid speculation of an anticipated rate cut, but the rand has broken through 7.54 against the dollar a few times today already, although we are pretty much where we were overnight. Markets are quite jittery ahead of all this expected data," he said.
Dow Jones Newswires reports that both the euro and the dollar came under pressure Wednesday as investors ran scared ahead of Bernanke's testimony to Congress Wednesday and Thursday and the results of the European bank stress tests on Friday. Given the recent slowdown in US economic data, Bernanke is widely expected to pave the way for a second round of quantitative easing in the US when he stands up in front of the Senate Banking Panel.
