The Rand took a battering on Thursday and is expected to take a further kicking on Friday as risk aversion from the Cyprus bailout fiasco punishes emerging currencies.
The currency has also been punished by the markets over the last couple of days as the South African Reserve Bank on Wednesday expressed concern over the Rand’s sharp decline but maintained a stance of non-intervention in the currency market. Traders and economists were disappointed after the Bank’s governor Gill Marcus maintained interest rates at their current level and didn’t attempt to talk up the currency.
“There was a total lack of talking up of the Rand, which surprised us and the market,” Nomura economist Peter Attard Montalto said.
The Rand hit a four-year trough of R9.3655 on Thursday, taking its cue mainly from a softer Euro on the back of weak economic data out of the region and fears of a banking collapse in Cyprus.
“Pull backs should be expected as we have come a long way, but having said that, we have broken important resistance levels and the trend is still to buy dollars on dips,” Standard Bank trader Jan de Fouw said.
Today, the Rand has fallen to a fresh four-year low against the US Dollar as emerging currencies took the heat from the risk aversion caused by the Cyprus bailout situation. The currency remains highly vulnerable to further losses as the situation continues.
Current ZAR Exchange Rates
The South African Rand to Euro exchange rate is currently trading at 0.0829
The South African Rand to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 0.1070
The South African Rand to Pound Sterling exchange rate is currently trading at 0.0705
The South African Rand to Australian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 0.1025
The South African Rand to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 0.1284
The South African Rand to Canadian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 0.1097
These exchange rates were correct as of 09:30 am GMT
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