# South Africa's Surprise Rate Cut No Death Knell for the Rand - Bloomberg

> The South African Reserve Bank cut its key rate to 6.75% from 7%, surprising 20 of 23 economists in a Bloomberg survey who expected no change. The rand fell 0.9% against the dollar on the day but recovered most of the loss on Friday. The cut was aimed at an economy in recession.

- Date: 2017-07-20 · published 2017-07-20T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: macro · region South Africa · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/70259-south-africa-s-surprise-rate-cut-no-death-knell-for-the-rand-bloomberg
- Commodities: [South African Rand (ZAR per USD)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/USDZAR.md)

## Why it matters

A surprise rate cut lowers borrowing costs and can weaken the rand over time, which would raise the local cost of imported feed inputs. The rand's quick recovery limits the near-term price effect.

## Read by commodity

- USDZAR: neutral

## Sources

- bloomberg.com: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-20/south-africa-s-surprise-rate-cut-no-death-knell-for-currency
- moneyweb.co.za: https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/economy/surprise-rate-cut-no-death-knell-for-rand/

---
Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.