The rand pared losses on Friday afternoon, but still traded above the psychological R13 to the dollar mark — a level last seen in December. The local currency fell as much as 2.4% on the dollar before staging a strong comeback in late trade as sentiment towards emerging markets improved, exemplified by the recovery in the Brazilian real. The rand has been caught up in a whirlwind of poor sentiment towards emerging markets, which forced several central banks to raise interest rates to attract foreign capital. These developments came as the US Federal Reserve looked set to further normalise its monetary policy by raising interest rates during its scheduled meeting next week, following years of unconventional monetary stimulus. Markets expect the Fed to increase rates at least another twice in 2018. The prospect of higher rates in the US has previously boosted the dollar at the expense of other currencies. The slide in the rand has added to inflation concerns, coming at a time when som...
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