Rand breaks R15 to the dollar level in midday Asian trade

The rand has broken the R15 to the dollar level in midday Asian trade on Thursday morning, trading at R15.03, 3 hours before the opening of the JSE.

This as the dollar continues to strengthen, which usually weakens the rand.

The dollar is strengthening as US investors await the release of the Federal Reserve’s July policy meeting minutes for an indication of a possible rise in interest rates in the US.

In South Africa, expectations for a rise in interest rates have been lowered due to a better-than-expected consumer price inflation rate for July at 4.6 percent.

JSE remains closed after record trade volumes

Trading on the JSE was delayed due to Tuesday’s huge trading volumes that reached a record R145 billion that still needs to be processed.

The local bourse asked clients to exercise caution when placing orders with the JSE while the opening has been delayed.

Market analysts Patrick Mathidi attributed the delays to the implementation of the share swop between Naspers and its subsidiary Prosus.

The deal led to Naspers now having a smaller weighting on the JSE.

Mathidi says, “The JSE announced late yesterday that there may be a delay in today’s trading session, the reason being that we saw the largest corporate action announced a few weeks ago which became effective yesterday where Naspers and Prosus are exchanging shares among themselves. Prosus is a subsidiary of Naspers. The board of both companies decided to increase shares among themselves.”