Better than expected US GDP data strengthened expectations of a further interest rate hike by the Fed and therefore aided the recovery in the US$ index. However worse than expected US employment data on Friday saw US$ weakness, and hence rand strength against the greenback. Geopolitical tensions eased over the course of the week and commodity prices remained relatively resilient which will have aided the appetite for riskier assets and supported gains across most emerging market currencies.

The rand is expected to trade in a range of R13.40/USD – R12.40/USD, R15.90/EUR - R14.90/EUR and R17.20/GBP - R16.20/GBP, in the week ahead.