S/Africa's rand, stocks weaker after hawkish Fed comments

South Africa’s rand retreated for a third consecutive ses­sion on Friday to its weakest level in a week against the dollar while stocks also fell, both assets pressured by signs the U.S. central bank could still lift rates this year.

By 1600 GMT the rand had slid 0.9 percent to 13.5065 per dollar, following a close at 13.3860 overnight in New York.

Comments on Thursday by a top Federal Reserve official sup­porting an interest rate increase as early as September boosted the dollar, putting emerging cur­rencies on the backfoot, with the rand among the biggest losers in the session.

Gold prices also fell sharp­ly, by as much 1.5 percent at one stage, adding further pressure on commodity-linked currencies. On the bourse, stocks were also lower, with bank and retail shares also hit by the hawkish Fed.

“The theme the whole week was what the Fed is going to do in terms of the rate hike,” BP Bernstein trader Vasili Tirasis said. “The neg­ative movement was in line with the thinking of the Fed hiking rates.”

The benchmark Top-40 index was down 0.41 percent to 45,877 points and the broader All-share index was 0.41 percent lower at 52,771.

Shares in South Africa’s second biggest lender by market value, Standard Bank, dropped 1.93 per­cent to 15 rand. Food retailer Shop­rite slid 1.25 percent to 202 rand.

Pharmaceutical producer Ad­cock Ingram Holdings gained 3.98 percent to 47.05 rand after report­ing a 41.9 percent to 43 percent in­crease in earnings in their interim results.

Trade was subdued with around 238 million shares changing hands, compared with last year’s daily av­erage of 296 million, according to preliminary bourse data.