South Africa’s rand slumps after Fed hike, stocks drop

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s rand slumped by close to 4% on Thursday, one of is biggest single day losses in over two years, as the dollar recouped losses after the US Federal Reserve indicated an unlikely chance of a 75 basis point rate hike.

At 1600 GMT, the rand was trading at 16.0650 against the dollar, down 3.96%.

The US Federal Reserve raised rates by an expected 50 basis points, with its Chair Jerome Powell ruling out large, aggressive interest rate hikes for the year as the central bank seeks to contain inflation without triggering an economic recession.