THE rand was firmer against the dollar in late Friday trade as an increase in oil prices led to a recovery in investor risk appetite, boosting emerging markets currencies such as the rand.
The rand was also buoyed by better than expected local manufacturing output data released on Thursday.
Growth in the sector increased by an annual 1.9% in February, its strongest showing since July 2015.
At 3.30pm‚ the rand was trading at R15.0211 to the dollar from R15.2632 at Thursday’s close. It earlier firmed to R14.9761/$.
It was at R17.1087 against the euro from R17.3599 previously‚ and at R21.1902 against the pound from R21.4533 previously.
The euro was at $1.1391 from a previous close of $1.1376.
The price of Brent crude jumped 3.3% to $40.73 a barrel after Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen and three former Fed leaders on Thursday sought to dispel worries about the US economy while emphasising a gradual path for interest rates, Dow Jones newswires reported.
Meanwhile the Japanese yen, which tended to rise in times of market stress, declined after hitting its strongest level against the dollar in a year-and-a-half, the newswire said.
Although Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, had gained more than 5% this week, analysts warned volatility in the oil price was likely to remain high ahead of a meeting of oil producers in Doha on April 17, keeping investors cautious, the newswire said.
