South Africa’s rand continued to trade sideways with little interest shown by local traders. We have 3rd GDP figures released today which will give us an indication of the state of our local economy, economists expect 0.2 percent growth. Most major currencies are trading sideways which will probably contribute to another quiet day locally. We will see exporters close to 7.60/$ and importers will probably look to buy currency below 7.50/$.
The dollar fell broadly on Monday after dovish comments from a U.S. Federal Reserve official added weight to expectations that U.S. monetary policy would stay ultra-loose for a prolonged period. The dollar fell to a six-week low against the yen and the euro gained more than three quarters of a percent against the greenback.
Moves were exacerbated by thin liquidity with Tokyomarkets shut and ahead of Thursday’s U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Sunday that the central bank should keep alive its mortgage-related asset purchase program beyond a planned end date to help stimulate the economy. Traders were also encouraged to sell dollars in favour of higher-yielding and perceived riskier currencies as gold prices jumped to record highs, European shares rose 1.4 percent and oil prices CLc1 gained more than 1 percent.