Cape Town - The rand raced on Wednesday morning to levels last reached in the fourth quarter of 2015 against the US dollar.
By 07:10 the local unit was trading at R13.37/$ from R13.66 on Monday and an overnight close of R13.41 in New York. Tuesday was a public holiday in South Africa.
Against the pound and euro the local unit was trading at R17.47 and R14.91 respectively, levels last seen in the first quarter of 2013.
The rand, however, was clearly not on its own in moving stronger, with many other emerging markets tagging along, with the moves also exaggerated due to the holiday season in Europe, said Adam Phillips of Umkhulu Consulting in his daily currency report.
Weak US productivity numbers for the April to June period also supported emerging market currencies.
He said the market does not even seem to consider what coalitions are going to come about because of the local elections.
"In terms of charts and technicals, there seem to be little support until we get to 13.10 on the ZAR. Given where we have been this year, this is an extraordinary move reminiscent of late December 2001 and all the way through 2002."
Phillips said the last couple of months have seen very sobering forex rates for exporters, "while importers have been happy to cover commitments on the concern that at any time a sudden reversal might happen".
"This has just not come through at all, although in my opinion importers must keep buying it down."
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