The rand was a little stronger on Tuesday morning, resembling the "buy the rumour and sell the fact" scenario.As widely telegraphed, US President Donald Trump made good on his promise by slapping tariffs on $200bn worth of Chinese goods, upping the ante in the month-long trade dispute with China. But risk assets hardly blinked, partly because the news been has been discounted. The attention has now shifted to China for a possible retaliatory response on the tariffs."At the same time, we cannot forget about the long-term negative consequences of the world trade problems," said UK-based FxPro.As for the rand, it has weakened substantially in recent months, limiting the potential for a further downside. The weaker rand environment has raised the spectre of higher inflation, which could persuade the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates by 25 basis points when its monetary policy comments wraps up its meeting on Thursday, according to some economists.Higher interest tends to attract fore...
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