Rand Advances as Forex Traders Express Optimism

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 Africa’s benchmark stock index (JALSH) reached the highest level in more than a month. The Standard & Poor’s 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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NZD Jumps as Positive PMI Figures Spark Optimism on FX Market

The New Zealand dollar surged today as the positive reports about China’s and US manufacturing made more attractive currencies related to growth, the New Zealand one among them.

The US Purchasing Managers’ Index increased from 52.7 to 53.9 in December, showing a 29th straight month of manufacturing expansion. Both the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of shares and the MSCI World Index climbed as much as 1.8 percent today. All in all, today’s trading session was marked by optimism and positive mood. The New Zealand currency profited from that.

The kiwi (the nickname of the New Zealand currency) jumped to 0.7906 against the US dollar — the highest rate since November 14. The NZ dollar reached 1.6499 versus the euro — the highest level since September 12. NZD touched 60.63 against the yen — the high not seen since December 18.

NZD/USD climbed from 0.7782 to 0.7902 and NZD/JPY was up from 59.81 to 60.59 as of 21:55 GMT today. Meanwhile, EUR/NZD tumbled from 1.6606 to 1.6502.