The South African rand advanced yesterday on the positive mood among Forex traders, though the currency lost part of its gains later. The rand held steady today.
The optimism was felt across all markets yesterday and currencies of emerging economies benefited from it. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbed 1.8 percent. South Africaâs benchmark stock index (JALSH) reached the highest level in more than a month. The Standard & Poorâs GSCI index of commodities jumped to the monthly high.
The rand was the worst performer among 12 major currencies last year. It has dropped 18 percent as fears of the European sovereign-debt crisis and its impact on the global economy damped demand for currencies of emerging markets.
USD/ZAR traded near its opening level of 8.0390 today as of 2:23 GMT. The currency pair fell yesterday from 8.0490 to 7.9960 — the lowest level since December 8.
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