THE rand had its first weekly decline in three weeks after the central bank said the currency's rally this year was "unwelcome", and some analysts predict further weakness to come.

THE rand's strength and the high valuation of local equities relative to developed markets mad e it a good time for investors to consider expanding their offshore portfolios, according to Sanlam Private Investments' (SPI) director of investments Alwyn van der

SA's gold and foreign currency reserves leapt 5,1% last month, buoyed mainly by proceeds from the country's recent 1,5bn bond issue, along with the revaluation effects of a stronger rand and gold prices.

BANKS have successfully adopted the use of the United States dollar as the base currency for their systems.

SIGNALS from the Reserve Bank that the rand is too strong played a role in the currency's sharp lurch weaker yesterday, but global trends were more influential, analysts say.