JOHANNESBURG – The rand was softer against the dollar at midday yesterday as lower-than-expected inflation figures made a rate cut by the Reserve Bank increasingly unlikely this year.
Report by Fin24.com
“With inflation being slightly less than expected‚ the weakening we’re seeing in the rand is probably related to reduced chances of a rate cut‚” said Gary Booysen a trader at Vunani Private Clients.
“Investors will be anticipating slightly lower yields‚” he said.
SA’s consumer price index (CPI) released earlier this morning was unchanged at 5,9% year on year in March.
This was slightly below the consensus expectation of 6% year on year‚ according to a survey of 10 leading economists by I-Net Bridge. Forecasts among the 10 economists ranged from 5,4% to 6,1%. Booysen said that any further movement was likely to be dominated by global risk sentiment.
The rand was bid at R9,1421/$ from R9,1202 at Tuesday’s close and R9,1995 at Monday’s close.
The rand was bid at R12,0571/€ from its previous close of R12,0187 and at R13,9633 against sterling from R14,0093 before.
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The euro was bid at $1,3182 from $1,3179 at Tuesday’s close and $1,3051 at Monday’s close.
