The rand weakened slightly on Tuesday morning, in an apparent consolidation after strengthening fairly sharply recently. Investec economist Annabel Bishop said the relative strength in the currency would help take pressure off the Reserve Bank, which is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged when its monetary policy committee concludes a scheduled policy meeting on Thursday. The Bank has previously considered a sustained deprecation in the value of the rand a threat to the inflation outlook, which it closely tracks when it decides on policy. The rand has been at the mercy of the global developments, weakening sharply in the second quarter before staging a recovery in July. Jitters over a trade war and further normalisation of monetary policy in the US via higher interest rates have contributed to the volatility in the rand exchange. On a one-year view though, the rand was little changed on the trade-weighted basis, noted Bishop, adding that this carried more weight when a...
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