South Africa's rand and stocks slip as lower commodity prices weigh
On Tuesday, Trump said he would impose a 50% tariff on copper imports, hoping to boost U.S. production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, power grids and many consumer goods.
At 1218 GMT, the rand traded at 17.8250 against the dollar , down roughly 0.2% on Tuesday's close.
South Africa is a major producer of minerals and precious metals and investors in its rand, like those in other commodity-linked currencies, will be closely tracking developments from Washington.
Prices of spot gold , platinum , palladium and copper outside the U.S. fell sharply on Wednesday.
"Although South Africa produces relatively little copper and therefore has minimal direct exposure, a potential U.S. copper tariff would weigh on commodity-exporting emerging economies more broadly," said Roy Topol, portfolio manager at Cratos Asset Management.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 index (.JTOPI), opens new tab was last down 0.2%, hurt partly by falls in shares of mining companies.
Shares of heavyweights Anglo American (AAL.L), opens new tab and Glencore (GLEN.L), opens new tab were both down 2%, which Topol attributed to their significant exposure to copper.
Shares of gold miners Harmony Gold and Gold Fields dropped 1%.
Compounding pressure on the already risk-sensitive rand is the country's attempts to negotiate a trade deal with the United States before an extended deadline of August 1, after which it faces a 30% trade tariff on its exports to the U.S.
Trump also reiterated on Tuesday his threat of 10% tariffs on the BRICS bloc, which includes South Africa.
South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was flat, with the yield up half a basis point at 9.9%.
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