Rand stabilises at stronger levels as Donald Trump begins his term
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold on Tuesday, but markets will keep a close watch on Lesetja Kganyago’s commentary on inflation
The rand steadied at stronger levels in late trade on Monday, but its short-term outlook was partly tied to the dollar, which has come under renewed pressure following the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president. "At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the market theatre only has one lead actor at the moment, with the supporting cast being reduced to forgettable one-liners. Yes, that leading actor is Donald Trump," TreasuryOne currency dealer Andre Botha said. Monday also marked the start of the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee meeting to decide on interest rates. The Bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold on Tuesday, but markets will keep a close watch on governor Lesetja Kganyago’s commentary about inflation expectations. He said in November that the committee expected headline consumer inflation to return to its target band of 3%-6% in 2017. The consumer price index (CPI) accelerated to an annual rate of 6.8% in December, which analysts said could be cl...
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