Money SA economy
The rand was firm this morning and is expected to be boosted further after financial services group Old Mutual confirmed that it had received a proposal from HSBC Holdings plc to acquire a controlling shareholding in Nedbank Group.
At 9.12am local time the rand was bid at R7.27 to the dollar, R9.25 to the euro and R11.33 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.2721 from $1.2707 overnight.
A local dealer said: "It’s very quiet at the moment, although the news about Old Mutual is likely to support a stronger rand. We haven't seen a violent reaction yet, as we are not sure what the cash flow implications are likely to be, but as soon as we get more information, we are likely to see stronger moves on the rand."
RMB analysts said in their morning report that $/rand's failure at R7.20/R7.24 and push to a high of R7.37 last week was mainly a reflection of US dollar strength rather than anything rand specific.
Dow Jones Newswire noted that investors said the European unit's outlook depends on share price moves. If shares decline, the euro should extend losses against its major rivals.
