JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand weakened from a five-month high against the dollar on Friday, although it still recorded a weekly gain, after the central bank raised the repo rate, citing inflation risks linked to the Ukraine crisis.
At 1500 GMT, the rand traded at 14.5755 against the dollar, 0.46% weaker than the previous close, but still a 3.3% weekly gain. Earlier in the day it touched 14.4738, the strongest level since Oct. 21.
On Thursday, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) raised its main lending rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%, but the five-member Monetary Policy Committee was split 3-2, with two members preferring a larger 50-basis-point move.
The outcome and the hawkish tone in the statement were in line with analysts and markets’ expectations, Carmen Nel, an economist and macro strategist at Matrix Fund Managers, said in a note.
“However, there were some surprises. The fact that two of the five Monetary Policy Committee members voted for a 50bp increase… while a pause was not discussed suggest that a 50bp hike at one of the following meetings has become a distinct possibility,” Nel said.
The rand has been one of the best performing emerging currencies since Russia invaded Ukraine a month ago, with higher prices for commodities such as gold, palladium, platinum and coal, which benefit resource-rich South Africa, offering support.
In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark 2030 government bond was up 9 basis points to 9.69%.
Stocks were mostly flat, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 Index slipping 0.17% to 67,578 points and the broader All-Share Index down just 0.03% at 74,325 points.
Gold and platinum companies dragged the blue-chip index down, as a dip in spot gold and platinum prices undid some of Thursday’s gains on price increases.
Northam Platinum was the biggest loser on the index for a second day in a row, adding a further 8.45% decline to that seen on Thursday, when its shares were hammered by a disappointing trading statement.
(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Rachel Savage and Emma Rumney; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Jonathan Oatis)
