The South African Rand exchange rate was trading in the region of 0.1122 against the US Dollar as of 11:36 am GMT
According to a report compiled by Statistics South Africa the nation’s unemployment rate dropped from 25.5 per cent in the third quarter of last year to 24.9 per cent in the fourth – indicating that more people in the nation had given up trying to find work.
Meanwhile, a separate report released yesterday showed that manufacturing growth shed 1.7 per cent in December from the previous month, dropping from November’s 3.7 per cent to 2 per cent as 2012 came to a close.
As one Johannesburg-based analyst put it, the South African slowdown is causing ‘widespread job losses and rising unemployment, which the Reserve Bank would likely want to counterbalance with looser monetary policy. As a result, rate cuts could still be on the cards’
Last month the Reserve Bank of South Africa retained its repurchase rate at is previous level of 5 per cent. Its decision to hold the rate and refrain from instigating additional fiscal stimulus was largely based on inflationary pressures caused by a weak Rand, and it seems the South African currency isn’t finished weakening.
For a third consecutive day the Rand posted modest losses against the US Dollar, taking its weekly decline against its safe-haven rival to 1.1 per cent. The Rand’s fall was exacerbated as the ‘Greenback’ strengthened as a result of the marketplace responding to European developments with risk-aversion.
In other currency news, fears regarding the effect that Euro’s strength may have on Eurozone growth have led to the common currency falling against the majority of its most traded peers. Meanwhile, concerns that the Japanese Yen may have weakened too fast led to safe-haven currency broadly strengthening.
Current ZAR Exchange Rates
The South African Rand to Euro exchange rate is currently trading at 0.0836
The South African Rand to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 0.1122
The South African Rand to Pound Sterling exchange rate is currently trading at 0.0714
The South African Rand to Australian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 0.1073
The South African Rand to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 0.1328
The South African Rand to Canadian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 0.1129
The South African Rand to Emirati Dirham exchange rate is currently trading at 0.4222
The South African Rand to Swiss Franc is currently trading at 0.1018
The South African Rand to Japanese Yen is currently trading at 10.3671
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