The rand gained some ground against the major currencies on Monday afternoon, as sentiment towards emerging markets improved slightly thanks to the calming of events in Ukraine.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that the ousting of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, who fled at the weekend after the bloodshed that left more than 100 people dead in anti-government protests, as well as expectations of a financial assistance package for the country had helped calm investors’ nerves.
The US and the European Union have pledged aid for a new interim cabinet in the Ukraine, which is in need of $35bn to avoid a default.
“The emerging-market space seems to be calming down again,” a local currency trader said, adding that a quiet day in terms of news had helped the rand settle within the R10.80/$-R11.10/$ range.
At 3.34pm, the rand was at R10.9096 to the dollar from Friday’s close of R10.9351. Against the euro, the rand was at R14.9656 from its previous close of R15.0211 and was at R18.1521 to the pound from R18.1882 on Friday.
The euro was at $1.3722 from $1.3737 at Friday’s close.