The rand plunged in early trade on Friday, a day after a public spat about the mandate of the SA Reserve Bank unsettled markets.
The local currency opened at R14.99 and was trading at R15.10 to the greenback at 08:30, its lowest rate in eight months.
TreasuryONE, in a note to clients on Friday morning, said the rand weakness was also caused by predictions by rating agency Moody's that the SA economy was likely to slip into a recession, and the ongoing trade war between the US and China.
On Tuesday Stats SA announced that SA GDP growth shrank by 3.2% in the first three months of the year, the biggest drop in a decade.
"Contradictory statements from the ANC regarding ownership of the Reserve Bank and what its mandate is also put the rand under pressure. President Ramaphosa affirmed the SARB’s independence, but confirmed that ANC would like to [wholly nationalise] the SARB but could not afford to do it in the immediate future," said TreasuryONE.