Rand Exchange Rate News

The US Dollar South African Rand (USD/ZAR) exchange rate fell by -0.7% today, with the pairing currently trading around R15.920 as the ‘Greenback’ continues to suffer from falling US bond yields and fears of another US Federal Reserve rate cut. Michael Gapen, the Head of US Economics Research at Barclays, commented that the ‘likelihood of getting a zero [per cent interest rate cut from the Fed] is higher than the risk of a recession’. Mr Gapen also added that there is ‘probably a low risk of a recession, a 1 in 4 maybe at...

- ECB Removes Easing Bias but Extends QE Measures until SEPTEMBER – Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates Suffer - The Pound Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate climbed on Friday, capitalising on comments from European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi which downplayed the bank’s decision to remove its easing bias in the March statement. The removal of said bias was initially deemed a hawkish indication from the central bank, with markets leaping at the prospect that the ECB was preparing to make good on normalising monetary policy. Mr...

Despite Eurozone political uncertainties and a lack of particularly impressive Eurozone ecostats in recent sessions, the Euro to US Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate easily surged on Tuesday thanks to political news made investors less eager to hold on to ‘safe haven’ currencies like the US Dollar. If market demand for ‘safe haven’ currencies remains low, EUR/USD could see stronger gains this week. Last week the pair only edged slightly higher from 1.2293 to 1.2316, but since Monday has already climbed to a fortnight high of...

Thanks to some decent UK ecostats, the British Pound to Euro exchange rate edged higher from its worst levels on Thursday. However, as investors anticipated a major Brexit speech from UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday, the Pound has only had limited appeal against the Euro. Since opening this week at the level of 1.1361, GBP/EUR has generally trended lower. On Wednesday the pair reacted to the latest Brexit developments by shedding almost a cent and hitting a two-week-low of 1.1269, but towards Thursday the pair neared the level...

Uncertainty ahead of a key week for Eurozone news and European politics weighed on the Euro to US Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate on Monday, preventing the pair from sustaining any gains. The US Dollar saw steady demand despite market anxiety ahead of a testimony from Fed Chair Powell on Wednesday. Due to a stronger US Dollar, last week saw EUR/USD plunge from 1.2413 to 1.2293. The pair briefly touched on a low of 1.2261 on Thursday. On Monday EUR/USD briefly advanced, but its gains were limited and the pair was trending near the...

Brief Government Shutdown Triggers US Dollar to South African Rand Exchange Rate Decline The US Dollar has fallen against the South African Rand and additionally made losses against the New Zealand Dollar and Australian Dollar today. This poor performance comes after the news that the US government was briefly shut down, due to an inability to pass funding legislation. In a repeat of an incident from a few weeks ago, the US government was technically inoperative because a funding bill was not passed by the House of...

Pound to Australian Dollar Exchange Rate Rallies on Higher Hopes for BoE Policy Tightening The Pound has been in high demand today, rising sharply against the Australian Dollar as well as the South African Rand and Indian Rupee. This GBP/AUD advance has been caused by rising optimism that a Bank of England (BoE) interest rate hike could come as early as spring this year. Such conclusions have been partly triggered by the IHS Markit estimate that inflation could pick up again in the coming months, based on data for manufacturing...

Pound Sterling (GBP) The Pound has failed to advance against the Euro or US Dollar on Wednesday’s trading session, due to persistent concerns about Brexit and Theresa May’s ability to govern. Mrs May has come under fire for failing to implement significant change during a recent cabinet reshuffle, which has led some to question how much authority she actually wields. Although Brexit talks haven’t fully resumed this year, the usual worrying warnings are still circulating about how economically catastrophic a ‘no deal’...

Pound to Rand Exchange Rate Drops after Worrying UK Income Forecast The Pound has lost ground to the South African Rand today, falling by -1.4% in the pairing. This deterioration is mainly down to a strong Rand, although UK domestic data hasn’t helped in the situation. UK real incomes are expected to be flat in 2018, meaning that the pace of wage growth and inflation will be equal. While such a situation would reduce the damage caused by the real income squeeze, it would not spark a spending spree. Under such conditions,...

Pound Loses Ground to Stronger South African Rand despite Stable UK Orders The Pound has risen against most of its regular peers on Monday’s trading session, with the exception of the stronger South African Rand. This is no fault of GBP, as the Rand has instead been the stronger currency in the pairing. Elsewhere, GBP has appreciated because of better-than-expected orders data. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) industrial trends for orders reading has remained at 17 points in December, instead of slowing to 14...