The rand struggled to gain ground overnight, despite the US Federal Reserve minutes, making the US dollar weaker. The July Fed minutes seemed to point towards a December interest rate rise, suggesting that the US economy is "nearly' ready for rates to go up. The commodity price rout and concerns over Chinese growth are keeping the rand against the ropes, in a market that should otherwise be rand-positive. There is little-to-no news on the data for the remainder of the week, giving the markets time to digest the news. 

Commentary by Gareth Frye