THE rand slid on Monday morning, continuing the weakening trend that gathered momentum last week when the spat between the Hawks and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan unsettled investors.But on Monday morning the pressure came mainly from a resurgent dollar after US Federal Reserve chairwomen Janet Yellen said on Friday that the case for an interest rate hike had strengthened in recent months.The local currency slipped to R14.3860 against the dollar, its weakest level in about five weeks.The weaker rand is likely to exert pressure on the Reserve Bank, which meets in September to decide on interest rates."As important as the Fed is, it is now secondary to whether Gordhan stays or goes," Rand Merchant Bank currency strategist John Cairns said in a note.Markets will also keep a watchful on the US nonfarm payrolls report due out on Friday. The US is economy is expected to have created 190,000 jobs in August, according to Trading Economics.At 8.59am, the rand was at R14.3803 against the do...
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