South African Rand Back in EM Top List After Outsize Rate Hike

  • Currency on track for its best weekly performance since March
  • Median of forecasts see rand averaging 15.90 per dollar in 2Q
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It took a rate hike of a magnitude not seen in more than six years to put South Africa’s currency back among the emerging-market currency winners.

The rand ended its worst streak of weekly losses since April 2020, elevating the currency to a list of just seven in developing-nations to post gains versus the dollar this year. The South African Reserve Bank on Thursday raised borrowing costs by 50 basis points to 4.75% and signaled it saw a steeper rate-hike path going forward.