Reserve Bank Governor shares good news about the rand

South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said the rand has held up well despite the shock from the war in Iran, reflecting greater confidence in the country’s economic outlook.

“Rand resilience has cushioned, but not shielded us from the shock,” Kganyago told Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Bangkok on Friday.

“The important thing is that the currency has been less volatile than it has been in the past, and it is a combination of push factors and pull factors.”

Policymakers voted unanimously last month to raise their benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 7.25%, after growing wary of inflationary risks stemming from wars in Iran and Ukraine.

Officials said they were adopting a more restrictive monetary policy to prevent elevated energy prices from triggering second-round effects that entrench higher inflation.

Kganyago repeated that line while stressing that rate decisions would be taken meeting-by-meeting, adding that “the environment is uncertain. We will continue to assess the situation.”