The rand firmed on Wednesday morning as the country awaits the latest from ratings agencies S& P Global Ratings and Moody’s, writes Andrew Linder.
Analysts say volatility in the local currency should persist ahead of S& P’s expected update on Friday. Moody’s may also make its pronouncement on the same day.
The South African Revenue Service will release trade data on Wednesday afternoon‚ with another surplus expected by most analysts. The Bloomberg consensus is for a surplus of R7.4bn.
Investec economist Kamilla Kaplan predicts an R8bn surplus from the R11.4bn recorded in March. The cumulative surplus for the first quarter of 2017 is expected to come in at R5bn‚ compared with the R24.3bn deficit in the first quarter of 2016.
At 9.42am the rand was at R13.1005 to the dollar from R13.1546.
It was at R14.6542 to the euro from R14.7167 and at R16.7814 to the pound from R16.9111.
The euro was unchanged at $1.1188.
