The rand steadied at reasonably stronger levels in late afternoon trade on Friday, taking its lead from a weaker dollar, whose fortunes were dented by disappointing US GDP data for the first quarter. Growth in the world’s largest economy moderated to an annual rate of 0.7% in the first quarter, from 2.1% in the preceding period, the US commerce department said on Friday. Uncertainty about the pace of increases in interest rates in the US has weighed on the dollar, which was the currency of choice in the weeks following the election of Donald Trump as US president in November. The rand, meanwhile, has weathered the local political storm in April, bouncing back from nearly R14/$ to R13.28/$. "The relative resilience of the rand in the face of this latest political turbulence has led us to pare back our forecasts for depreciation this year," Capital Economics’ Africa economist John Ashbourne said in a note. "We now expect that the rand will end 2017 at R14/$ rather than R15/$. Presiden...
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