The rand briefly touched the 15-rand-80 mark on Thursday, amid general dollar strength and following a decision by the South African Reserve Bank to hike the repo rate by 25 basis points to 3-point-75 percent. The Bank's monetary policy Committee increased the repurchase rate for the first time in three years, effective from the 19th of November 2021. Reserve bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said the Committee believes a gradual rise in the rate will be sufficient to keep inflation expectations well anchored. For a look at the implications of the hike, here is Chief Economist at the Efficient Group, Dawie Roodt.