South African rand stabilises after loss on smaller rate increase

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand stabilised on Friday, after losses a day earlier when the central bank raised interest rates less than expected.

At 1440 GMT, the rand traded at 17.2050 against the dollar, not far from its previous close 17.2000.

The South African Reserve Bank raised its repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.25% on Thursday, less than the 50-bp hike expected by the majority of economists polled by Reuters and following three 75-bp hikes in a row.

"The less hawkish stance was immediately evident in the performance of the rand, which depreciated," ETM Analytics said in a note.

Thursday's decision suggests South Africa has reached the interest rate peak or that at most there might be another 25-bp increase left in a hiking cycle that started in November 2021, ETM Analytics said.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's All-share index was up about 0.4%. The government's 2030 bond was slightly weaker, with the yield up 3.5 basis points to 9.675%.

(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian and Alexander Winning;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)