Share

Rand slumps as economic data weighs

Johannesburg  - The rand stumbled more than 1% to its weakest in two months against the dollar on Monday, as a recent raft of weak data rekindled investor concerns about the sluggish economy.

The unit slumped to a session low of R10.6960/$, a level last seen on March 27 according to Thomson Reuters data, and was trading at R10.6850/$ by 15:58 GMT, down 1.05% from Friday's close.

The rand extend losses after data showed new vehicle sales fell 9.2% year-on-year in May to 49 465 units.

The market is still reeling from last week's numbers showing the economy shrank in the first quarter of the year, the first contraction since a 2009 recession.

"The underperformance of the rand is quite understandable because for the last 10 days the market has been surprised on the negative side by all the data out of South Africa," said HSBC EMEA forex strategist Murat Toprak.

"There is a clear substantial deterioration of the macroeconomic situation in South Africa and the market has started to care about the economic dynamics."

Government bonds weakened alongside the rand, particularly at the longer end of the curve, with the heavily traded 2026 paper adding 7 basis points to 8.385%.

The 2015 instrument ticked 1 basis point higher to 6.67%.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.0%
Rand - Pound
23.90
+0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.41
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.33
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.0%
Platinum
908.05
+1.2%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent-ruolie
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders