JOHANNESBURG: The South African rand neared an all-time low against the dollar in early trade on Wednesday, bruised by global risk aversion linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and uncertainty over the future of the country’s ruling coalition.
The rand fell as low as 19.8225 to the dollar, not far from the weakest it has ever traded at 19.9075 in June 2023.
By 0655 GMT, it had recovered some ground to reach 19.73, up 0.2% on the day, but it is still down over 3% so far this week.
The South African currency is highly susceptible to shifts in financial market sentiment, which has soured badly over Trump’s tariff war. U.S. tariffs on dozens of countries kicked in on Wednesday, while China was hit with 104% duties.
Another important factor behind the rand’s recent slide is local politics.
The two biggest parties in the broad coalition government have disagreed sharply over the budget, with the junior partner voting against it in parliament and going to court.
South African rand extends drop on tariffs and local politics
Despite both parties saying on Tuesday that they are not yet walking away from the Government of National Unity (GNU), investors are still worried about the prospect that the pro-business Democratic Alliance could exit government.
“Local developments concerning the GNU have intensified the shift away from the rand,” ETM Analytics said in a note.
The benchmark 2030 government bond dropped in early deals, as the yield rose 13 basis points to 9.33%.
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