JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s rand extended its losses against the US dollar early on Wednesday, as the greenback hovered near a one-month high due to lowered expectations for a March rate cut.

At 0750 GMT, the rand traded at 19.0225 against the dollar, about 0.3% weaker than its previous close, after losing more than 1% against the dollar the previous day.

The dollar was last up about 0.14% against a basket of global currencies.

The dollar has surged this week due to hawkish comments by European Central Bank and Federal Reserve officials which suggested the Fed might wait longer than previously expected to cut rates.

Statistics South Africa will release retail sales figures for November at 1100 GMT.

South African rand weakens as Red Sea tensions push dollar up

Economists polled by Reuters have predicted a year-on-year decrease of about 1.1%. On the stock market, the Top-40 index was down 1.72% while the broader all-share was down 1.56% in early trade.

South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker in early deals, with the yield up 2.5 basis points to 9.835%.