Rand slips to a three-week low in the wake of poor US growth

The rand slipped to a three-week low on Friday, this amid continuing Covid-19 uncertainty in global markets.

The local currency opened trade at R16.75 on Friday and ended the day 1.5% weaker at R17.01.

"The rand traded as weak as 16.9456 yesterday (Thursday) in the wake of the US GDP and jobless claims numbers which saw risk aversion grow in EM currencies," Andre Botha, senior dealer at TreasuryONE said in a note.

The US GDP contracted by 32.9% between April and June, making this the country's steepest contraction since the second world war, the US Federal Reserve revealed on Thursday, this as Covid-19 takes a weighty toll on the country's economy.

The record-setting quarterly fall in economic growth in the US has had a global knock-on effect.

The rand plunged to a low of under R19/$ in early April when South Africa entered its first month of lockdown, but has gradually been gaining ground since then.