The rand was on a much firmer footing on Thursday morning, helped by the steady flow of improving local data and as global markets stabilised after a wobble earlier in the week. The local currency inched towards R12.50/$, a level last seen in 2015, and brought gains so far in March to just more than 4%. SA’s current account deficit narrowed to 1.7% of GDP in the fourth quarter, from 3.8% in the third, the best level in six years, boosting the value of the rand. The local currency has also profited from broad weakness in the dollar, which has been hurt by the expectation that the Federal Reserve will increase rates gradually during 2017. The stronger rand helps rein in inflation, which decelerated to an annual rate of 6.3% in February, from 6.6% in January. The benign inflation data led to the growing expectation, at least among some economists, that the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee could lower the repurchase rate in the second half 2017. Nedbank economists expect the cen...
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