A week which was looking so good... Steady, smooth, and almost calm strengthening of the market from Monday morning through Wednesday... ...only for Wednesday and Thursday to turned things on their head! The Fed hiked the interest rate. And the Rand reacted accordingly. What had been a good week, suddenly turned into an action-packed show.…
Isn’t it amazing, how time and again, when the news is about the worst it can get, that the Rand pulls a fast one against everyone’s expectation. Will anyone forget the last week of March this year when, after days of rumours, Zuma decided it was time to throw all caution (and what was left…
It's been a crazy couple of weeks for the ZAR, both on the home front and abroad. Events, scandals, surprises and shocks have come thick and fast...(and they aren't showing any sign of stopping just yet) People have been expecting drastic market moves...but they haven't come...? ...despite SA GDP Q1 figures showing we are in…
It is difficult to put this week into a few words... The market was at its undecided worst, as it fought against news, economic events all week long, leaving everyone with rather a choppy mess. ...Zuma's ousting was bungled. ...Trump made his big call on exiting the Climate Deal. ...Moody's kept SA Credit Rating steady…
A week built up on anticipation of big action over the weekend... ...with the Rand benefiting handsomely from the expectations. When it looked like the market had finally run out of gas, it gained a second wind, which sent it well below R13/$! Mostly put down to the chances of a President Zuma removal in…
What a chaotic week for the Rand, as it was thrown from side to side, upside down and the right way up! A week of events, mostly outside of the country of South Africa, seemed to have an awful effect on any stability the Rand has managed to cobble together over the past while. But…
When the Rand crashed its way up to R13.71 on Tuesday last week, alarm bells were already going off... After a volatile period, it looked like the Rand had finally cracked. Now, R14 and above was on the cards. Or was it? Our forecast from Monday had said otherwise... ...but the feeling around the general…
Choppy, undecided, unsettling and dangerous... A rather unsettling week sure did not help settle any investors nerves, as we saw no stability in the markets once again. It was a week packed with events... ...from interest rate decisions to Obamacare repeal ...to US Trade Balance & Jobs data and to Non-Farm Payrolls And as always,…
A week which started so well... ...and then back to usual business once again. How many more times are we going to have this It was a week of events - French Election, Zimbabwe's decision not to use the Rand as their currency, Trump's tax plan and more. But with the market sitting pretty at…
A calm surface...but turmoil underneath. The gains of the Rand over the last week are a welcome relief to many who had seen their wealth getting sliced into smaller and smaller pieces as if it were a pork sausage. So a welcome relief. But not a problem solver. Despite the Rand's gains, it does not…
Sentiment reaches an extreme...and then the tables turn. As per popular belief, the Rand went rushing onwards in the first half of this week. It weakened significantly, moving into the R13.90s at one stage... This was on the back of another downgrade - this time from Fitch ratings agency - late on Friday afternoon. Throughout…
#JunkStatus, Downgrades, Protests, #ZumaMustFall, and more… ....just another week of South African politics and economics. There was no lack of action this week, and the retaliation from Zuma’s actions reached a record high, with protests & demonstrations threatening his position. His firing of finance minister Gordhan, and the cabinet reshuffle has sent South Africa -…
JZ has done it ... again ... and more Always with a self-serving trick up his sleeve... ...and always a Rand #CrashFlash around the corner. This week was the one where it all turned on its head. Jacob Zuma went after Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan with renewed vigour, and before you could blink your eyes,…
28 March 2017 What a month for the Rand! A month of shock news and shock moves - Starting off GOOD, then going BAD... ... and ending up really UGLY. If ever there was a month to keep the market guessing, confused and taken by surprise, this was one of them - as the Rand…
This past week was nothing short of a blitzkrieg. An annihilation. But not the type we have come to know over the years with the USDZAR... ...for once, it was the Rand coming out on top! And handsomely too! In a period of continued strength, the Rand really climbed into the Dollar, growing its gains…
Well... Where do we even start reviewing a week like this? In perhaps one of the most startling turnarounds of the year, the Rand pulled off a heist of note, and turned the whole week around midstream... ...despite widespread expectations ...despite the US Fed Rate hike ...despite rumours of cabinet reshuffles ...despite the SASSA crisis…
A week which began so well for the Rand... ...and then it all fell down in a heap. The past few months have seen consistent strengthening for the Rand, leading many to think that it was some kind of miracle that we were going to see levels like this for some time yet... ...they were…
A week which was neither here nor there... ...but more than enough see-saw activity to provide some headaches for those with a forex exposure. With positivity still booming, many were hoping for the Rand to rush to greater strength, further below its records for the year... ...such was not the case, as we saw the…
Well, well well… Who thought the Rand had run out of steam at the end of the previous week? I think many did… ...but there was more left in the tank. #Budget2017 provided some real impetus to the Rand. This was contrary to popular belief, yet the Rand stormed past it the record level from…
What a comeback! After attacks from all corners with a horrendous State of the Nation, Bank Collusion scandals and more, the Rand pulled some wonderful tricks out the hat this past week. Most would have expected there to be Rand weakness... ...but not so, as the Rand came storming back, breaking records and levels we…
