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USD/ZAR: South African Rand Bulls in Control

Crispus Nyaga Market Analyst (Writer)
    Summary:
  • The USD/ZAR price has continued to drop in the past few days after the relatively strong economic data from South Africa. What next?

The USD/ZAR price is falling for the fifth consecutive day after the relatively strong economic data from South Africa. The pair is trading at 14.9737, which is its lowest level since December 22. The GBP/ZAR and EUR/ZAR have also dropped.

USD/ZAR news: The biggest catalyst for the South African rand today is the relatively strong PMI from the country. According to Standard Bank, the PMI increased from 50.2 in December to 50.8 in January. This happened even as the country continued to battle the new variant of the virus. 

Also, recently, data has shown that the South Africa’s retail sales, mining production, and manufacturing sectors are also struggling. Yesterday, data showed that the country’s total vehicle sales dropped by 13.9% to 34.78k.

Looking ahead, the USD/ZAR will next react to the US services PMI data, ADP private payrolls, and the country’s nonfarm payroll numbers.

USD/ZAR technical outlook

On the four-hour chart, the USDZAR price formed a double-top pattern at 15.38 between 25th and 27th January. The neckline of this pattern was at 15.02. This means that the pair will possibly continue falling as bears target the next support level at 14.65, which is slightly below the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level. However, this price action will be invalidated if the price manages to move above the resistance at 15.20.

USDZAR chart

USD/ZAR