Johannesburg — The South African rand edged lower late on Friday, after a strong week in which it was bolstered by traders looking for signs of U.S. inflation peaking.
Markets interpreted U.S. inflation figures this week as indicating the Federal Reserve could be less aggressive in its interest rate hikes, weakening the dollar and boosting emerging market currencies like the rand.
But on Friday the dollar reversed some of the week’s losses.
At 1530 GMT, the rand traded at 16.2800 against the dollar, more than 0.1% weaker than its previous close.
The dollar was up 0.6% against a basket of currencies.
The risk-sensitive rand is highly susceptible to swings in global sentiment and the outlook for U.S. monetary policy, especially when there are few domestic economic data releases.
Next week the local data calendar is light, with June retail sales (ZARET=ECI) on Wednesday a highlight.
Johannesburg-listed shares ended the week on a softer footing.
The All-share index (.JALSH) closed down 0.75% and the Top-40 index (.JTOPI) was down 0.96%.
An outlier was paper and packaging firm Mondi, whose shares rose more than 10% after it said it had agreed to sell its largest plant in Russia for about $1.6 billion.
The South African government’s benchmark 2030 bond was weaker, with the yield up 11.5 basis points to 9.93%.
*David Holmes – Reuters
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