The South African rand extended its rally against the US dollar today for the third consecutive day, gaining about 1.3 percent through the week, on upbeat US economic data. This is indicative of a swifter global economic recovery, which has improved the overall market risk sentiment. The US pending home sales report showed an unexpected surge. Also, the number of jobless claims reduced more than predicted.
USD/ZAR traded at 7.225 at about 11:23 GMT today, after fluctuating between the 7.206 and 7.248 range.