Latest news with #rand
Bloomberg
2 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
South Africa's Rand Ends Slide After Weak US Jobs Report
The South African rand strengthened against the dollar on Friday, erasing earlier losses after a key report showed the US labor market cooled sharply over the past three months. The currency rose 0.9% to 18.06 per dollar as of 3:14 p.m. in Johannesburg, halting its longest losing streak since 2022. The rand had been under pressure recently as President Donald Trump pushed ahead with plans to impose a 30% tariff on South Africa's exports to the US.
Zawya
7 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
South African rand drops to one-month low as tariff cloud hangs over interest rate decision
The South African rand was flat on Thursday, 31 July 2025 ahead of an interest-rate decision by the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb), as the country hopes to strike a trade agreement with the US before new US import tariffs take effect on 1 August. At 0729 GMT the rand traded at 17.9825 against the US dollar, near its previous close and its weakest in over a month. The risk-sensitive currency fell sharply on Wednesday, closing past 18 rand for the first time since 20 June 2025. South African goods face a 30% import duty in the US In exchange for reducing the rate, South Africa has offered to buy US liquefied natural gas, simplify rules for US poultry imports and invest $3.3bn in US industries including mining. The central bank is due to announce whether it will change its policy interest-rate later in the day. Economists polled expect a 25 basis-point cut. Andre Cilliers, currency strategist at TreasuryONE said if the bank lowers its main lending rate, it could be the last cut for the current cycle given the tariff unease. ETM Analytics said in a research note that "with such tariff uncertainty, it seems somewhat counterintuitive for the Sarb to be reducing interest rates". Investors will also look to June producer inflation and trade balance figures on Thursday for clues into the health of Africa's most industrialised economy. South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was weaker in early trade, with the yield rising one basis point to 9.82%. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
News24
11 hours ago
- Business
- News24
Rand slumps to weakest level in months after Trump hits world with new tariffs
The rand hit R18.23/$ on Friday morning as the US currency continued to gain ground. The dollar headed for its best week in almost three years against its major peers, maintaining momentum on Friday after US President Donald Trump imposed new tariff rates on dozens of trade partners, including 30% duties on SA products. The US dollar index - which measures the currency against a basket of six major peers including the euro, yen, Swiss franc and Canada's dollar - is on course to rise 2.5% this week, its best weekly performance since a 3.1% rally in September of 2022. On Friday, it rose 0.1% to 100.14, the highest since May 29. The rand was also trading at its weakest level since May against the dollar. It lost more than 3% of its value this week. Apart from the trade turmoil, the currency also came under pressure after a local rate cut. US rates were kept unchanged this week. Lower interest rates make rand assets less appealing to traders seeking short-term returns. Some countries fared much worse than others in tariff rates, hitting their currencies. Canada received a 35% levy instead of an earlier threatened 25%, pushing the loonie down 0.12% to C$1.3872, its lowest since May 22 versus its U.S. peer. The Swiss franc eased as much as 0.26% to 0.8120 per dollar after Trump set a 39% duty on Swiss imports, up from the 31% he previously mooted. Among Asian currencies, the Philippine peso slumped to its weakest level in six months, while Taiwan's dollar hit its lowest since early June. South Korea, which got its trade deal late Wednesday, also saw the won swept up in the declines, with the currency falling to levels last seen in mid-May. The euro remained pinned near an almost two-month low around $1.1412, as it continues to be weighed down by what markets see as a lopsided trade agreement with Washington. That wasn't far from Wednesday's low of $1.1401, a level not seen since June 10. "In the short-term, you can make the case for more dollar strength," said Mike Houlahan, director at Electus Financial in Auckland. "The lion's share of the tariff news has washed through." "The big move of the week has really been the euro getting rerated downwards," he said. "The net result would be the EU-U.S. trade deal is a further headwind for the euro." The EU's framework trade agreement with the US, struck on Sunday, was quickly criticized by French leaders and the German head of the European Parliament's trade committee as being unfair for Europe. The US dollar stayed strong even though Trump continued his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell overnight, calling him a "terrible" Fed Chair and calling his own decision to appoint Powell to the position a "mistake". Trump's repeated threats to fire Powell and calls for the Fed to drastically cut rates have put the central bank's independence in question, hurting the dollar in recent months. The Fed shrugged off that pressure on Wednesday by holding policy steady, citing "somewhat elevated" inflation and a "solid" labour market. A crucial economic test comes in the form of monthly payrolls data later in the day, with economists forecasting that employment growth slowed to 110,000 new jobs in July. Some analysts see that as a Goldilocks result, which would allow the Fed to resume rate cuts without sounding alarm bells. "Data-wise, the US looks resilient," said Shoki Omori, chief desk strategist at Mizuho Securities. "If the US economy is already operating above potential, that bump can translate into a slightly higher neutral rate of interest, which is supportive for front-end bond yields and therefore the US dollar," he said.
News24
a day ago
- Business
- News24
Rand crashes through R18/$ amid tariff turmoil, US rate outlook
• For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page. Markets mostly fell on Thursday while the dollar held most of its gains as traders weighed a cautious Federal Reserve with strong tech earnings and Donald Trump's tariffs on key economies South Korea and India. The rand breached R18/$ for the first time in more than a month, and was trading at R18.07 by late morning. The local currency has lost almost 3% of its value over the past week. The US central bank held interest rates steady and refrained from suggesting it would cut any time soon despite. While two members of the policyboard took the rare move of dissenting and voting to cut, investors pared their bets on a reduction in September sending the dollar rallying against its peers. 'For South Africa, hopes are high for another interest rate cut on Thursday, which would see a rapid interest rate cut cycle since September last year in contrast to the Fed, with the SARB then only missing one meeting in March to deliver a -25bp cut so far,' said Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop. Bishop said tariff concerns were also weighing on the rand. Earlier on Thursday, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau confirmed that a deal has not been reached with the US, and added that SA may submit a new last-minute offer before the deadline of August 1. The latest developments on the trade front saw Trump announce a deal that sees 15 percent tariffs on South Korean goods and a commitment from Seoul to invest $350 billion in the United States. He also said India would face 25 percent tolls, coupled with an unspecified penalty over New Delhi's purchases of Russian weapons and energy. And he signed an executive order implementing an additional tax on Brazilian products, as he lambasts what he calls Brazil's "witch hunt" against his far-right ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro on coup charges. Traders are keeping tabs on talks with other countries that are yet to sign deals with Washington ahead of Trump's self-imposed Friday deadline. After a broadly negative day on Wall Street, Asian markets struggled. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Manila, Wellington and Jakarta all fell, though Tokyo, Taipei, Mumbai and Bangkok edged up. London, Paris and Frankfurt rose in the morning. The JSE's All Share index was flat. MTN surged 6% after its Nigerian business reported strong half-year results. But Anheuser-Busch slumped almost 9% after its results disappointed. Inflation risk The Fed cited a moderation in economic activity in the first half and 'solid' labour market conditions but warned 'uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated', while inflation too is somewhat heightened. Asked about Trump's tariff deals and whether they brought more certainty, Fed boss Jerome Powell told reporters: 'It's been a very dynamic time for these trade negotiations.' He added that 'we're still a ways away from seeing where things settle down'. Kerry Craig of JP Morgan Asset Management said: 'With some details on baseline tariffs only just becoming clear, and many of the details of the recently agreed 'deals' still to be ironed out, the risk is that inflation rates will continue to rise in the coming months.' US jobs data due Friday will be closely watched for a fresh look at the state of the world's top economy, with a weak reading likely to put pressure on the Fed to cut. The yen retreated against the dollar after the Bank of Japan decided against hiking interest rates, while lifting economic growth and inflation costs. It also cautiously welcomed the country's trade deal with the United States. While the rising inflation outlook opened the door to a potential rate hike later in the year, Yuxuan Tang at JP Morgan Private Bank said such a move was "still highly uncertain". "BoJ policymakers face a delicate balancing act between competing policy dilemmas, including sticky inflation, lukewarm consumer demand, fiscal pressures, and tariff impacts," he wrote in a commentary. Traders had been given a healthy lead from the tech sector after titans Microsoft and Meta posted better-than-expected earnings, sending their stocks soaring in after-market trade. Amazon and Apple are due to release later Thursday.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
South African rand starts data-filled week softer, eyes on tariff deadline
JOHANNESBURG, July 28 (Reuters) - The South African rand was weaker in early trade on Monday, with investor attention pinned on key economic data expected during the week while investors also eyed an uncomfortably close August 1 deadline for U.S. President Donald Trump's country-specific tariffs. At 0524 GMT the rand traded at 17.7475 against the dollar , 0.2% weaker than Friday's close. The risk-sensitive currency lost a bit of ground last week and remains on the back foot as cautious traders await tariff updates with the country facing a 30% duty on its exports to the U.S. and an interest rate decision by the South African Reserve Bank on Thursday. Many traders and analysts expect another rate cut (ZAREPO=ECI), opens new tab after inflation (ZACPIY=ECI), opens new tab rose modestly in June, moving just inside the central bank's target range. For further clues on the shape of Africa's most industrialised economy, investors will look to money supply (ZAM3=ECI), opens new tab and private sector credit (ZACRED=ECI), opens new tab data on Tuesday, budget balance (ZABUD=ECI), opens new tab figures on Wednesday, producer inflation (ZAPPI=ECI), opens new tab and trade balance (ZATBAL=ECI), opens new tab data on Thursday. South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was marginally stronger in early deals, as the yield fell 1.5 basis points to 9.835%.
