Brazil, South Africa FX Soars as Trump Dials Back Trade War Tone

Currencies from Brazil, South Africa and Mexico outperformed emerging-market peers on Monday as trade concerns eased on a day marked by thin trading volumes, with the US bond market closed for a holiday.

Investor appetite for riskier assets grew during the Americas session, with the real and the rand climbing roughly 1% each, supported by higher commodity prices and hints that the Trump administration is open to negotiate with China. Still, the currency gauge for the group fell and the benchmark stock index, heavily weighted toward Asia, plunged to the lowest in more than a week.