Calls for a weaker rand to aid economic growth in South Africa gained momentum when the Organization for Co-Operation and Development (OECD) urged the country to increase its foreign currency reserves and weaken the currency. "The overarching challenge for South Africa is to boost its trend growth rate and thereby create jobs," the OECD said in a report, which assessed South Africa's economy. "Despite a strong macroeconomic policy framework, job creation and productivity growth remain too low to underpin sustained rapid GDP (gross domestic product) per capita growth," it said. "South Africa's growth performance, though improving, has been mediocre. Per capita GDP grew by some 1.6 per cent a year from 1994-2009, and by 2.2 per cent over the decade 2000-09," it added.

The Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee convenes a two-day meeting today to decide on whether to further cut the repo rate. The Metropolitan Asset Managers (MetAm) on Tuesday released a note which forecasting that the central bank will cut interest rates by 50 basis points. The MPC will announce its decision on Thursday. "Currently, as interest rates in developed markets remain at historic lows, the rand will continue to be influenced by carry trades until the expected future depreciation of the rand is equal to the interest rate spread we maintain over other countries," said MetAm's economist Ilke SmitSmit.