JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand extended its losses on Tuesday as risk appetite fell amid heightened tensions in the Middle East and dwindling bets that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates any time soon.
At 1541 GMT, the rand traded at 19.0300 against the U.S. dollar, about 0.2% weaker than its previous close.
The dollar was last trading 0.09% stronger against a basket of currencies, after hitting a five-month high on Tuesday.
Following a recent raft of U.S. economic data, markets have reduced bets of a Fed interest rate cut in July, with the first cut only seen likely in September.
“Safe-haven assets like the dollar and gold are in demand as risk sentiment turns negative,” said Andre Cilliers, currency strategist at TreasuryONE.
On the South African stock market, the Top-40 index and the broader all-share index closed about 2% lower.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield up 7.5 basis points to 10.860%.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Nellie PeytonEditing by Ros Russell, Alexandra Hudson)
