The Rand had a rocky showing against the dollar on Thursday, trading at R14.73 to the greenback by 17:30 on Thursday afternoon, its lowest point for the year so far.
The currency followed the lead of those in other emerging markets, according to TreasuryONE.
"For the Rand, today's trading was a bit topsy turvy, with the Rand trading quite erratically within a 15 cent band. The Rand looked odds on to break below the R14.6000, but taking its cue from other [emerging markets] with the risk-off sentiment still evident, [it] weakened with other EM peers and tested the R 14.7500 level," TreasuryONE said in a note to clients on Thursday afternoon.
"Across the commodity space, it was a quiet day with not a lot to write home about. Looking at this evening, we expect the Rand to be on the back foot still, due to the current sentiment in the market and we could have a fresh test of R14.75," the note added.
The currency's performance comes at the end of a week punctuated by market jitters over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China, as well as its spread to other countries.
Compiled by Khulekani Magubane