If the FOMC were to implement such an action, it would be judging that the risks to the economic expansion of waiting longer had increased unduly and had begun to outweigh the advantages of waiting for uncertainties to be reduced by the accumulation of more information about economic trends.
Turning to the external sector, the rand's fortunes appear to have turned somewhat and the weighted exchange rate of the rand has recovered by some 13,45 per cent from 31 December 2001 to 7 May 2002. South Africa's foreign trade balance – our exports minus our imports - was adversely affected by the slowdown in the world economy.