Rand firmer as global risk appetite rises

Johannesburg - The rand hovered near the previous session's two-week highs against the dollar on Wednesday, benefiting mainly from an upswing in global risk appetite.

At 08:40 the local unit traded at R11.3840 to the greenback, barely off Tuesday's closing level of R11.3720.

The rand had climbed more than 1% to R11.3650 the previous day, its strongest since January 22, as recent interest rate cuts by some central banks, the latest being Australia's Reserve Bank, boosted appetite for high yielding assets.

In fixed income, the yield on government debt maturing in 2026 added 4 basis points to 7.215%.


Improving global sentiment due to a rising oil price and hopes of a resolution to Greece's debt problems had hit the dollar and bonds, helping the rand, RMB currency analyst John Cairns said.

"Yesterday’s price action shows that global markets - including the rand, local bonds and equities - are now tied to the Greek and oil stories," Cairns said in a note.

On the local front, traders and analysts said the latest purchasing managers index report due out at 09:15 would give the latest clue on the state of the domestic economy, although its market impact would likely be muted.