South African Rand Steady Despite Possible US Interest Rate Hikes by Federal Reserve Chair Powell

Powell's comments on further potential interest rate hikes fail to deter steadiness of rand, with future Federal Reserve actions now primarily dependent on upcoming data releases.

• Despite hawkish signals from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggesting possible additional interest rate hikes, the South African rand showed little change, indicating resilience to global factors.
• Future decisions on Federal Reserve actions, including potential interest rate hikes, will be heavily dependent on upcoming data releases in the following weeks.
• The South African rand, like other risk-sensitive currencies, tends to respond to global drivers like US monetary policy as well as to local factors.
• Indicative of the impact of local conditions, South Africa's September mining data showed a 1.9% decline year on year, while manufacturing output fell by 4.3% according to Statistics South Africa.
• The performance of the South African rand and its future trajectory will also be influenced by movements in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and alterations in yields of government bonds.

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