The US dollar traded on the back foot in its early trades on Wednesday, although the index managed to find some sense of conviction and direction in its intraday trading activities. The sentiment was predominantly underpinned by investors positioning ahead of the US Jobs data, along with hawkish comments from the Fed. The dollar rose to a high of 92.308 before ending the session at 92.270.

Following a promising start to the day, the single currency struggled to hold on to its earlier gains, as it edged lower on Wednesday on the back of dollar recovery. The dollar was lifted out of the woods by comments from the Fed, amongst other things. The euro slipped to a low of $1.1834 before ending the day at $1.1838.

The pound sterling was also derailed by the dollar’s recovery on the day, dipping to a low of $1.3886 before ending the session at $1.3890. Today we have the Bank of England’s rate decision, with the market expecting the rates to remain unchanged.

ZAR

In yesterday’s session, the rand consolidated to the downside, coming off its recent lows as the dollar staged a recovery with investors seeking refuge in the havens and remaining cautious ahead of US jobless claims.  The rand weakened to a high of R14.4128/$ to close the session off at R14.3652/$.

Currently, the rand is vulnerable to foreign events and key data releases on the local front remain thin. All eyes turn to the BOE’s rate decision and US jobless claims later this afternoon, we anticipate the rand to take direction from these foreign headlines and events.

Expected ranges for the day:

•                         USDZAR: R14.2700 to 14.4700/$

•                         EURUSD: $1.1860 to $1.1935

•                         GBPUSD: $1.3870 to $1.3980