The rand slipped on Wednesday morning, taking its lead from world markets where the dollar rebounded slightly from multiyear lows against the basket of currencies. But sentiment around the greenback remained weak, despite relatively upbeat US economic indicators, which potentially back a case for more increases in interest rates. Some analysts ascribe the weakness in the dollar to growing perceptions that more central banks, particularly in the developed economies, could be on the verge of tightening their monetary policies. As one of the most-liquid emerging-market currencies, the rand is sensitive to changes in interest rates as they tend to affect the flow of funds. After weeks of apparent consolidation, the rand pushed to a two-and-half-year high to the dollar before losing steam. "We are following much the same narrative as we did at the beginning of last year with yield-seeking being the buzzword, which supersedes any economic news that might be released," said TreasuryOne dea...
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