With the US being out of the market today, we have seen the market trading in a fairly subdued manner. The rand and other emerging market currencies enjoyed the reprieve from the US dollar flexing its muscle, and the rand has strengthened within eyesight of the R18.00 level after opening the day around the R 18.18 level. With the amount of data out this week, it is almost a given that the market will gain fresh momentum, and the picture in the market could look a lot different than we started the week. There is also the renewed fear of the war escalating in Ukraine, which could come to bite risky assets as the world uns to safety again.
The biggest data out this week comes from the US, with the US Fed minutes out on Wednesday, followed by the US CPI number out on Thursday. Any print above the 8.1% expected number would be positive for the US dollar, and we could see the EM market struggle.
