Money SA economy
The rand was 10 cents firmer in morning trade on Friday, from the same time on Thursday, eyeing 7.39 against the greenback ahead of crucial EU bank stress test results, out this evening.
At 09.01am local time the rand was bid at R7.42 to the dollar, R9.57 to the euro and R11.37 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.2879 from $1.2917 overnight.
A trader said: "It’s all about the stress tests today. How will they work? And how will they be received? We will have to wait till later to see how the euro reacts, but in the meantime, if we break through 7.44, we could see 7.39 against the dollar. We have seen very little action from Asia, so we could just tread water today ahead of those test results this evening," he said.
RMB analysts said in a morning report that the rate decision provided the impetus for a break - a 2% gain in the Dow and a run on euro/US dollar provided the background assistance. Having broken US dollar/rand 7.52 support is now at US dollar/rand 7.40/44.
"We will receive German IFO data this morning but all eyes are on the EU bank stress test results. You'll have to wait until 06.00pm to see the effects - watch risk appetite as reflected in equities but the main driver for us will be euro/US dollar. Key resistance is provided by euro/US dollar 1.3000 and by tonight we'll know if the market is trapped in a range down to 1.2000 or is heading higher.”
