FxWirePro: USD/ZAR downtrend loses steam, remains on bearish path

• The USD/ZAR edged higher on Wednesday    as markets awaited interest rate decisions from the United States and Africa's most industrialised economy.

•The Federal Reserve is expected to hold rates steady on Wednesday, with markets expecting the pause to last beyond Jerome Powell’s final meetings in March and April, as policymakers remain split on further rate cuts ahead of his successor’s arrival this summer.

• Investors' focus will also pivot to South Africa's first interest rate announcement of 2026 on Thursday, where 18 of 26 analysts polled by Reuters expected the central bank to leave its repo rate unchanged, and eight predicted a 25-basis-point rate cut to 6.50%.

•Other domestic releases this week include producer inflation numbers on Thursday, while money supply, private sector credit, trade balance and budget balance figures are all due on Friday.

The rand, like other risk-sensitive currencies, often takes cues from global drivers such as U.S. policy.

• Immediate resistance is located at 16.103(38.2%fib), any close above will push the pair towards 16.301(SMA 20).

• Strong support is seen at 15.789 (23.6%fib) and break below could take the pair towards 15.707(Lower BB)

Recommendation: Good to sell around 16.100 with stop loss of 16.300 and target price of 15.800