Pula hinges on Rand depreciation

Boosted by strong capital inflows, the Rand has gained against the Pula and other hard currencies since last year, strengthening from levels of R10.27 to the greenback in February 2009, to its current R7.31. From February 2009 to February 2010, the Rand rose by 37 percent against the US Dollar, during which period the Pula declined by approximately 12 percent against the Rand.

Over the same period, the Pula has generally firmed against the US Dollar, as a result of the operation of the currency basket against which it is managed. Botswana's currency basket includes the Rand, US Dollar, British Pound, Euro and Japanese Yen.