The rand steadied against the US dollar early on Friday as investors held positions ahead of a Standard & Poor’s credit rating update on Africa’s most advanced economy later in the session. At 08:07 the rand was trading at R12.3775/$, not far off its Thursday New York closing level of 12.3550.
“The headline event today is S&P’s rating review decision. We think it is extremely unlikely that they will change the rating or even the outlook,” John Cairns of Rand Merchant Bank said in a note. Standard & Poor’s in December kept the rating at BBB-, the lowest investment level, with a stable outlook.
The rand has also been under pressure after data on Thursday showed that April factory output unexpectedly contracted.