Johannesburg - Political risk continued to weigh on the rand on Friday afternoon‚ with concerns over the downgrade by Fitch being the primary driver of slower trade.
“This afternoon it’s been pretty quiet. The downgrade was definitely the trigger that set the rand to a lower level‚” said Ockert van Niekerk‚ head of trading at PSG.
At 3:11‚ the rand was bid at R8.7055/$ from its previous close of R8.6566/$. The local currency was bid at R11.5385/€ from its previous close of R11.4872/€ and at R14.0135/€ against sterling from R13.9807 before.
The euro was bid at $1.3267 from its overnight close of $1.3272.
“The farm worker’s strikes in the Western Cape have also played a role‚” Van Niekerk said.