- When the month of September started the USD/ZAR was traversing near the 17.92000 vicinity and this was viewed as a solid result by many Forex analysts who were pleased the currency pair was able to maintain a stance below the 18.00000 ratio.
- However as the month of October gets set to start the USD/ZAR has produced more bearish ability and finds itself in sight of the 17.00000 mark.
- This result is likely via a combination of dovish U.S Federal Reserve policy starting to be delivered and continued optimism regarding the South African coalition government.
While the U.S Fed is certainly still walking a tightrope as it tries to interpret the American economy and decide if the Federal Funds Rate can continue to be decreased, there is a belief that another interest rate cut is going to happen in November. This has certainly caused financial institutions to gear towards a weaker USD in Forex and the USD/ZAR has correlated to the broad market extremely well. In fact the South African Rand has turned in a consistently good trading performance in September generating real bearish momentum. The USD/ZAR is near the 17.07000 mark as of this writing.
South African Rand and Optimism Domestically
The additional optimism from a solid South African coalition government has also helped the USD/ZAR track lower. It cannot be quantified but confidence that the S.A government is actually working better and has oversight in key ministerial offices is allowing financial institutions the belief that years of mistrust may be starting to be addressed regarding transparency. As noted before, not all things will turn into paradise and there certainly are problems domestically in South Africa that need to be worked on, but the ability to be a bit more confident about domestic issues is helping the USD/ZAR too.
The USD/ZAR was trading near the 17.66000 on the 17th of September, but after the U.S Federal Reserve announced its rate cut on the 18th the currency pair was able to build more momentum lower. The move below the 17.60000 ratio and sustained selling began to create stronger declines and financial institutions started to push the USD/ZAR beneath the 17.50000 level going into the weekend on Friday the 20th of September.
Further Drive Lower in the USD/ZAR
Trading since falling below the 17.50000 level the currency pair has incrementally shown the capability to challenge support, and the USD/ZAR is now technically around values it has not seen since January of 2023. The USD/ZAR did touch lows around the 16.75000 vicinity in January 2023.
- However, before bearish day traders get overly ambitious and aim for these lower depths the USD/ZAR will need more impetus to continue its trend. Reversals higher will still be seen and risk management cannot be forgotten.
- U.S will release important jobs data this Friday, if the number comes in lower than expected this could drive the currency pair lower.
- The 17.0000 level is also a key psychological mark for the USD/ZAR that traders should pay attention to if it begins to be tested.
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USD/ZAR Outlook for October 2024:
Speculative price range for USD/ZAR is 16.71000 to 17.46000
The move lower in the USD/ZAR cannot be mistaken. Day traders who have profited from the bearish trend may believe that the lower momentum will come to an end and should start looking for reversals upwards, but this might be a mistake. While the USD/ZAR may not have the same price velocity lower it has created the past handful of months, there still may be some room to traverse to other depths. Traders need to be careful as they wager on the USD/ZAR.
Consideration of the U.S Fed will be important in the coming weeks via U.S economic data. Also the U.S election is drawing closer and this might create caution in Forex including the USD/ZAR as day’s progress and November comes into sight. If the USD/ZAR can break through the 17.00000 level and sustain trading below, this accomplishment will be looked on as a big achievement by financial institutions. Reversals higher are certainly going to be seen in the coming days and weeks, the question is if they will continue to be met by stronger selling.
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