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South African Rand Slips on US Rate Hike Concerns

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 28 (Reuters) - The South African rand slipped on Monday in response to higher U.S. Treasury yields and concerns over further U.S. interest rate hikes.

At 1156 GMT, the rand traded at 18.6650 against the dollar , over 0.3% weaker than its closing level on Friday.

The dollar last traded around 0.1% weaker against a basket of global currencies.

On Friday, addressing the Jackson Hole Symposium of global central bankers, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that further interest rate hikes are on the cards in the world's biggest economy, should they be needed to lower inflation.

"(This) usually does not bode well for risk assets," said Bheki Mahlobo, market analyst at ETM Analytics.

The risk-sensitive rand often takes cues from global factors, such as U.S. monetary policy, in the absence of local economic drivers.

Other global dynamics included the BRICS summit in Johannesburg last week where South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the expansion of the bloc of emerging economies.

"The inclusion of countries such as Saudi Arabia... (and) Iran could be read as South Africa moving away from the West, which does carry significant risks should Western countries respond aggressively," Mahlobo added.

Local data releases this week include July money supply, private sector credit and budget numbers on Wednesday, and July producer inflation and trade figures on Thursday.

On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, both the blue-chip Top-40 and the broader all-share indices last traded around 1% higher from their Friday close.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was flat, with the yield at 10.210%.

Reporting by Tannur Anders Editing by Alexander Winning and Tomasz Janowski

Source: Reuters


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