In our weekly round up this week, we look at some important data released and the affect this has had on the currency market.

USD/ZAR

A bearish week ensued for the greenback, testing R17.50/$ on Monday and losing ground to level out with most investor buys being placed at an average of around R17.28/$.

A crowning talking point on the dollar this week was the Federal Reserve minutes, which fell short of detailed clarity but insinuated at the need for further aiding and abetting to the sedated economy.

EUR/ZAR

Focus remained tentatively set on the ECB monetary policy meeting minutes which were released yesterday.

The meeting oozed uncertainty with subtle signs of recovery showing in the Eurozone however the officials are hesitant to assume the storm is over.

GBP/ZAR

Pound Sterling saw an assortment of positive index data on Wednesday showing uptick in consumer spending and demand for goods, with forecasted results of today’s market service PMI expected to improve as well.

Brexit uncertainty is creating psychological hurdles for the Pound against certain pairs, while on the flip side of news the UK is set to push coronavirus testing to monitoring 150,000 people every two weeks.

South African Rand

A move to Alert Level 2 saw the rand secure minor ground against several currency pairs this week, however the gains were short-lived with the lock-down shift being overshadowed by the nations constant lack of clear and coordinated policy implementation.

“Too little too late” has been the theme of the nation’s current economic state of affairs throughout the week, combined with the looming of escalating debt and worries of US election rush is expected to possibly see the rand fall against the dollar if R17.80/$ is breached convincingly in coming weeks and months.

Short term, on the top end we are focused on R17.30/$ and R17.50/$, breaking these may see the climb towards the 2016 spike high of R17.80/$.

While on the bottom-side and in accordance to the current gradual downward channel forming, breaking R17.20 and then R17.10/$ may signal a further bearish move down.

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