The rand was softer against major global currencies on Thursday afternoon, as the dollar firmed following the release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s January meeting.The minutes helped to stoke fears that interest rates would rise in the US faster than previously forecast. Fed officials were bullish in respect of economic growth in the minutes, also noting that recent tax cuts in the US had been larger than expected.The yield on US treasuries was last seen above 2.90% — a four-year high.While three US interest rate increases in 2018 were now strongly priced in – with a more than 50% likelihood -there was potential for a fourth, and more again in 2019, said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam. This appeared to be worrying investors and shaking confidence in equity markets.A spike in yields on US treasuries helped precipitate a sharp sell-off on global equity markets earlier in February.At 3pm, the rand was at R11.7294 to the dollar from R11.6646, R14.3891 to the euro from R14.3275 and...
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