The rand was weaker against global currencies on Thursday morning as markets awaited decisions from central banks. The local market is waiting for the Reserve Bank’s decision on interest rates in the afternoon. The Bank is expected to keep the repo rate on hold at 7%, despite a favourable inflation trend. On Wednesday, Statistics SA reported that annual consumer inflation for June had slowed to 5.1%‚ from 5.4% in May. NKC Research analyst Elize Kruger said the favourable inflation trend, resilience of the rand and "the dismal state of the economy" were building a case for some monetary policy easing in the second half of 2017. Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s earlier suggestion, which was later retracted, to have the Bank’s mandate reviewed, "could, in essence, imply that inflation targeting as a monetary policy framework could be dropped and the Bank would lose its independence to some extent".
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