Rand slides as dollar steadies ahead of Fed

The rand slid in early trade on Friday, as the US dollar hovered near its recent peaks on expectations that the Federal Reserve would need to hike rates more to tame inflation.

At 0701 GMT, the rand traded at 17.61 against the dollar, 0.13% weaker than its previous close.

“The more immediate, short-term outlook… continues to favour the dollar, which will likely remain supported heading into next week’s Fed policy meeting,” economists at ETM Analytics said in a research note.

In the stock market, the Top-40 and the broader all-share indexes dropped more than 1% in early trade.

The government’s benchmark 2030 bond fell in early deals, with the yield up 7 basis points to 10.365%.