Rand update
The rand closed firmer at R15.48 last night as the dollar lost ground to the euro and pound yesterday. The US holiday saw the rand keep to a narrow range, but it did attempt to break the R15.45 level before settling back. We are a touch softer this morning at R15.50, with the dollar trading up from last night’s closing levels. Hawkish comments from Fed officials and a jump in US bond yields are supporting the dollar this morning.
Commodity update
A quiet day on the precious metals front yesterday, with Gold and Platinum showing modest gains while Palladium closed slightly softer. This morning sees Gold and Platinum trading reasonably flat at $1,854 and $960 respectively, while Palladium is 2.8% stronger at $2,087. Copper is trading unchanged this morning, while Nickel has jumped to $29,231. The price of Brent has jumped to $123.30 today after an agreement by EU leaders to ban up to 90% of Russian oil imports. The prospect of increased demand out of China, as Covid restrictions are relaxed, is further supporting the oil price.
International update
The DXY index is quoted at 101.68 this morning, with the dollar trading at 1.0752 against the euro and at 1.2617 against the pound. Last night, the euro and pound had closed higher at 1.0777 and 1.2650. The Japanese Yen has also weakened to 127.95 against the dollar this morning. This morning, US Treasury yields have opened higher, with the 30y-yield quoted at 3.04%, the 10y-yield at 2.84%, and the 2y-yield at 2.57%. The Hang Seng and Shanghai are both trading higher this morning, while the Nikkei is slightly weaker. US futures have opened in the green as US equity markets look to build on the big jump in prices on Friday.
