South African rand weakens as dollar rallies on risk sentiment

JOHANNESBURG, March 22 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand weakened in early trade on Friday, in line with other emerging market currencies as the U.S. dollar gained on global risk sentiment. At 0745 GMT, the rand traded at 18.9700 against the dollar , about 0.7% weaker than its previous close. The dollar was up almost 0.3% against a basket of global currencies, and set for a second week of gains. “The dollar reversed all of Wednesday’s post-FOMC losses yesterday after the Swiss National Bank surprised markets by cutting its benchmark rate by 25 basis points, and U.S. economic data surprised to the top side,” said Andre Cilliers, Currency Strategist at TreasuryONE. There was further support for the dollar from a dovish…