Pound Sterling News: GBP Exchange Rates Dip after UK Retail Sales Slump
The Pound to South African rand (GBPZAR) exchange rate fluctuated in Thursday afternoon trade, but still remained near lows not seen in almost three years as market cheer on news that Finance Minister Gordhan had a strong backing from the Cabinet kept the Rand strong.
Sterling, on the other hand, saw mixed movement throughout the day. It is unlikely that the Pound will see much in the way of inspired movement throughout Friday’s sessions unless public sector net borrowing is far lower than expected.
Should the future of South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan remain in question the Rand is expected to remain under pressure, especially as speculation over an imminent Fed rate hike rises.
However, should worries over the prospect of a hard Brexit be stoked during Theresa May’s first EU summit the GBP ZAR exchange rate may struggle to hold onto its recent gains.
The Pound has managed to make a gain of 0.5% against the South African Rand (GBP ZAR) today.
While the pairing remains down on the week's opening levels of 17.44, the movement still marks a slight recovery for the Pound after another fairly disappointing week in exchange rate terms.
The latest UK data has concerned retail sales in September, where because of unseasonably warm weather, sales have flatlined on the month and elsewhere fallen on the year.
Latest Pound/Rand Exchange Rates
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Future Pound South African Rand Movement to Follow UK GDP and Confidence Stats
So what other UK news is likely to impact the Pound South African Rand exchange rate in the days ahead?
Noon tomorrow will see the October Confederation of British Industry (CBI) industrial production results announced; an upwards shift is expected. Beyond this are more impactful UK releases, which are due out on Thursday and Friday next week.
In the former case, the Q3 preliminary GDP growth rate results are expected, which are forecast to drop on both the quarter and the year.
Following on from this will be the GfK consumer confidence result for October, which is set to worsen early on Friday from -1 to -2.
South African Rand (ZAR) Rocked by Nation’s Slip back in IMF Size Rankings
Having been unsettled recently by news that South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is facing a fraud charge, South African Rand (ZAR) exchange rates have since been devalued once again, this time by a report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF regularly releases rankings of how African nations are performing economically, and after previously claiming the top spot, South Africa has since fallen down a place to Nigeria, which is predicted to have a larger economy. At the time of writing, third place Egypt’s 2016 data was not yet known.
Recent domestic data out of South Africa has concerned inflation in September and retail sales in August; inflation has risen on the year and month, while annual retail sales have fallen in contrast to a monthly rise.
Will GBP ZAR Exchange Rate Forecast React to Metal Prices in Near-Term?
With a gap of a week coming before the next South African Domestic data, the Pound South African Rand (GBP ZAR) exchange rate may be shifted by precious metal prices in the interim.
Previous metal price shifts have seen the cost of gold edge up, but prices for platinum and copper both slide in recent days.
When it does come out, next week’s South African data is not expected to be particularly high-impact, with September’s PPI results coming on Thursday and Friday bringing money supply stats for the same month.
UK news and developments are likely to remain the main cause of Pound Sterling to South African Rand (GBP ZAR) exchange rate movement.
South African Focus: IMF Remains Cautious About Future ZA Economic Performance
Returning to the damaging IMF report that lowered South Africa’s standing in the African economic rankings, the IMF released a statement with its report, forecasting that;
‘In South Africa, where policy uncertainty is making the adjustment to weaker terms of trade more difficult, GDP is projected to remain flat in 2016, with only a modest recovery next year as the commodity and drought shocks dissipate and power supply improves’.
Today finds the pound to pound spot exchange rate priced at 1.
At time of writing the pound to euro exchange rate is quoted at 1.17.
At time of writing the pound to us dollar exchange rate is quoted at 1.243.