Rand firms below R19 to US dollar

The rand firmed below the psychological R19 to the US dollar level yesterday, buoyed by less volatile world markets and signs that SA's government of national unity (GNU) will hold.

- Suren Naidoo

It comes as the rand was on the verge of topping the R20 mark against the greenback last week, after hitting a record low of R19.93 in intraday trade last Wednesday. The currency later recovered to around the R19.14 level on Friday. But it was more than 1% stronger yesterday, firming to R18.91 by 10am.

With the US dollar's weakening trend globally last week, some local analysts and economists noted that the strain on the GNU, with the DA's possible exit, was weighing on the rand.