The rand fell to its weakest on record against the US dollar, surpassing a level it last hit in June 2023 as investors reacted to the global trade war and fragile local politics.
The currency reached R19.93/$ in Johannesburg. It pared the loss to trade at 19.8250 at 5.30pm before surging later in the evening after US President Donald Trump announced he was suspending most of his punitive global tariffs for 90 days (except on China).
“The rand is being pummelled by the triple whammy of being used as the liquid EM bellwether currency to hedge against underperformance in risk assets, as well as by the ongoing collapse in commodity prices, and by the internal domestic turmoil presented by instability in the governing coalition,” said Phoenix Kalen, head of emerging markets research at Societe Generale in London.
Liquid
The rand is among the most liquid currencies in developing markets, and is often used as a proxy for risk sentiment.
“With trade uncertainties high, asset price volatility elevated and global growth probabilities continuing to be revised lower, we expect short-term weakness in ZAR to continue,” Kalen said. — (c) 2025 Bloomberg LP
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