* Rand extends losses to one month low
* Bonds shrug off unsurprising rates decision
* Central bank says expects depreciated rand
JOHANNESBURG, March 29 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand
weakened more than one percent against a robust dollar on
Thursday after the central bank governor said she was expecting
a slight depreciation in the local currency.
South Africa’s Reserve Bank left its repo rate at 5.5
percent as expected. But Governor Gill Marcus said its monetary
policy committee (MPC) needed to be more vigilant on inflation
with signs that price pressures were becoming more broad-based.
The rand fell for the third straight session
against the dollar on Thursday, dropping 1.4 percent to
mid-February levels of 7.7801. It closed at 7.6760 on Wednesday.
Marcus told journalists there were numerous factors
affecting the rand which created a “fairly volatile”
environment.
“The one uncertain factor is what will happen to the exchange
rate. So, the assumption at this point at time is … for a
slightly depreciated (figure), but it depends on what occurs,”
she said.
“We really do need a resolution of Europe before we can get
more stability in the outlook,” she added.
Continued…
