Rand rallies as dollar extends post-Fed losses; PPI falls sharply

The South African rand was little changed in early trade on Thursday, after a widely-expected interest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve and fairly balanced comments from Chair Jerome Powell.

Locally, focus will now be on producer inflation figures, due at 0930 GMT and expected to confirm the disinflation trend seen in consumer inflation numbers.

At 08:50, the rand traded at R17.64 against the dollar.

“The rand is trading close to yesterday’s levels and showing no significant sign of selling off,” ETM Analytics said in a research note.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect producer inflation to slow further to 6.0% in annual terms in June from 7.3% in May.

Slowing inflation and the South African central bank’s decision to leave its main interest rate on hold last week have spurred buying of government bonds and contributed to the rand’s strong showing in July.

The rand is up more than 6% against the dollar this month.

South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was up slightly in early deals, as the yield fell 3.5 basis points to 10.220%.