Pula seen widening gains against dollar

In a commentary titled Africa Markets Revealed, analysts at Standard Bank say despite the slightly flatter crawl, their view of a much stronger seven percent appreciation of the South African rand relative to the dollar leads to the belief that the pula should still appreciate against the dollar this year.

“We expect dollar/pula to close the year around 10.05, from some 10.65 presently. This view of an appreciation is contrary to the forward curve’s pricing of a modest depreciation over the coming 12 months,” the analysts said.