South African Rand Stops Decline as Commodities Recover

The South African rand gained today, ending the two-day drop versus the US dollar, after commodities recovered and on speculation that policy makers will take measures to deal with the European debt crisis.

The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of 24 raw materials rose 1 percent, following the yesterday’s decline by 1.7 percent, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index advanced 0.4 percent. South Africa’s benchmark stock index gained after two days of losses. Greece confirmed budget cuts and increased asset sales to avoid default.

USD/ZAR fell to 6.9710 from 6.9990 today as of 13:35 GMT after it jumped yesterday as high as 7.0180.

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