JOHANNESBURG, Dec 19 (Reuters) – The South African rand slipped against a stronger dollar in holiday-thinned trade on Friday, but analysts said it could soon resume its rally.
At 0655 GMT the rand was about 0.2% weaker than Thursday’s closing level at 16.76 to the dollar.
The dollar was up 0.1% against a basket of global currencies.
The rand has had a strong year, rising more than 12% against the dollar in 2025 thanks to South Africa’s improved fiscal performance, success in containing inflation and soaring precious metals prices.
“It seems plausible that the rand will remain well supported and could appreciate even further,” ETM Analytics said in a research note.
This week’s economic data releases showed price pressures remain moderate, keeping the central bank on course for more interest rate cuts next year.
Consumer inflation slowed to 3.5% in November from 3.6% the month before, within the 1 percentage point tolerance band of the central bank’s new 3% inflation target.
Producer inflation was at 2.9% in November, the same rate as in October.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Joe Bavier)
