Rand slides

JOHANNESBURG . — South Africa’s rand extended its fall yesterday, tracking a beleaguered Turkish lira, ahead of a sovereign ratings decision by Moody’s.

At 0630 GMT, the rand was 0.19 percent weaker at 14,6325 to a dollar, compared to an overnight close of 14.6050.

The rand marked a third consecutive session of losses as sentiment toward emerging-market currencies was hit by a 6 percent plunge since Friday by the Turkish lira — a key proxy along with the rand for demand of high-yield currencies.

The lira’s sharp slide, triggered by a $3 billion drop in the country’s foreign reserves and resulting intervention by government in exchange markets, overshadowed the interest rate decision by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) due on Thursday and a decision on the sovereign rating by Moody’s set for Friday.

“It will likely be the guidance that Governor SARB Kganyago offers combined with the upcoming data that will be of greater interest, although it will be Moody’s decision that ultimately decides how next week’s price action will unfold,” said Investec in a note to clients.

Bonds were also weaker, with the yield on government’s 10-year issue up 2 basis points to 8,745 percent.

In stocks, no-frills lender Capitec reported a 19 percent jump in annual profit, with the bank saying it attracted an average of 127,000 clients every month in 2018, bringing the total number of customers to 11,4 million.