South Africa’s rand continued to strengthen yesterday after much better than expected trade figures. A trade surplus of 2 billion rand was reported versus a 1.4 billion rand deficit the previous month. The dollar rallied against most major currencies overnight as the latest moves we see are typical of thin trading conditions due to European summer vacations, causing the rand to give back some of its gains the dollar however the local unit is much stronger against the European currencies this morning.
The U.S. recession is likely to end later in 2009, ushering in a “frustratingly slow” recovery marked by continued high unemployment, a top Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday. Janet Yellen, president of the San Francisco Fed, looked for inflation to stay low for several years, and hinted that the central bank should be in no hurry to raise interest rates even once growth turns positive. “I am not optimistic that the economy will spring back to normal anytime soon,” Yellen told the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco. The U.S. jobless rate is likely to rise from its current level, and it could take several years to return to full employment, Yellen said — a period that could intensify downward pressure on wages and prices. In her first extended remarks on the economy since early May, Yellen said that undesirably low inflation was the biggest issue on the medium-term horizon.
Current levels
Rand / Usd
7.7300-7.7800
Rand / Euro
10.8300 – 10.8800
Rand / Sterling
12.6800 – 12.7300
Jpy / Rand
12.50- 12.55
Jpy / Usd
96.82
Usd / Euro
1.4040
Gbp / Usd
1.6425
Gold
$69.96
Brent
$930.00
Expected ranges
Rand / Usd
7.7000-7.9000
Rand / Euro
10.8000-11.0000
Rand / Sterling
12.6500-12.8500
Jpy / Rand
12.45-12.65
Thanks to Accredinet Financial Solutions for Article