Post-Fed Greenback Weakness Continues to Support Rand, USDZAR at Intraday Lows

The extension of post-Fed greenback weakness and the general risk-on tone across global markets continues to lend support to the rand, with USDZAR down 1.05% on the day at typing. The pair last deals just below its prior intraday lows in the 18.50 region, with a break through initial support at the Nov 29 low of 18.4597 needed to signal scope for a more sustained move lower toward the bear trigger at the Nov 15 low of 18.1117.

• Strength in commodities, and specifically a 3.3% uptick in the Bloomberg Precious Metals Index, is likely providing an additional tailwind to the rand. Domestic PPI and NFP data did little to move the needle, though worth noting that while expectations in the latest BER survey were unchanged for 2023, an increase to +5.7% for 2024 and to +5.6% for 2025 from +5.5% and +5.3%, respectively, was recorded.