South African rand gains on domestic economy while dollar dips
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 2 (Reuters) -The South African rand was stronger in early trade on Friday, helped by signs of improvement in the domestic economy and dollar weakness on global markets.
The rand traded at 18.2275 against the dollar ZAR=D3 at 0635 GMT, up about 0.3% from Thursday's close.
The dollar was down about 0.1% against a basket of currencies =USD after an unexpected slump in U.S. manufacturing raised fears of an economic downturn.
South African data on Thursday showed electricity generation increased 5.4% year on year in June. A purchasing managers' index survey for the manufacturing sector, meanwhile, showed a sharp rebound in July.
"Structural improvements in the South African economy should continue to support the rand," Commerzbank analyst Volkmar Baur said in a research note.
Later on Friday South Africa's government will auction 1 billion rand ($54.9 million) of inflation-linked bonds.
($1 = 18.2188 rand)
Reporting by Alexander Winning
Editing by David Goodman
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
