THE rand continued to trade on the back foot on Friday, after it experienced an overall soft week, according to NKC Research.
In local developments, the AA cautioned that a fuel price hike is on the cards for October, stating that “(the price of) Brent crude in particular has increased by $10 a barrel in less than a month, and the Mediterranean and Singapore prices used in South African fuel pricing are also on the advance.
“This trend could point towards substantial future fuel price increases."
South Africa’s CPI print will be released this week while the South African Reserve Ban (SARB) is also due to announce its rate decision.
At the close of local trade, the rand quoted 0.15 percent weaker, at R14.61/$, after trading in range of R14.54/$ to R14.71/$. The rand extended its losses overnight. The expected range of the rand against the dollar today is R14.70/$ to R15.00/$.
South African bourse
The JSE All Share (-0.7 percent) ended lower on Friday, as the rise in other indices was not enough to offset the decline in resources (-3.9 percent).
In local news, Spur posted some positive growth in franchised restaurant sales, despite the restaurant industry being highly affected by lockdowns. In the overall emerging market sphere, the MSCI Emerging Market Index (0.2 percent) traded higher.
Brent crude oil
The Brent oil price traded on the back foot on Friday as production restarted in the Gulf of Mexico that was left offline following consecutive hurricanes. Oil prices still managed to register weekly gains of close to 3 percent as prices were supported by tight supply due to outages. At the close of local trade, benchmark Brent crude futures quoted 0.65 percent lower at $74.95pb. Crude prices traded weaker during Asian trade this morning.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE