FxWirePro: USD/ZAR surges as rand slumps after SARB rate hold surprise

• USD/ZAR rose higher on Thursday  as the South African rand  weakened after  South African Reserve Bank unexpectedly left ‌its benchmark lending rate unchanged.

• South Africa's central bank surprised markets   keeping its benchmark interest rate unchanged, saying its current policy stance remained sufficiently restrictive to steer inflation back to its target over the next two years.

• The South African Reserve Bank kept its policy rate unchanged at 7%, with four members of the Monetary Policy Committee supporting the decision. Two members preferred a 25-basis-point rate hike, highlighting a split within the committee over the future policy path

• The South African rand plunged following the rate decision more than 2% against the U.S. dollar  as markets reacted negatively to the central bank’s decision to hold rates steady.

• Immediate resistance is located at 16.921(38.2%fib) any close above will push the pair towards 17.000(Psychological level).

• Strong support is seen at 16.674(50%fib) and break below could take the pair towards 16.445(61.8%fib).

Recommendation: Good to buy around 16.750 with stop loss of 16.550 and target price of 17.200