Woolworths meat and veg shortage, and South Africa strikes gold

South Africa’s rand rose to its highest level against the U.S. dollar in nearly three months on Thursday (6 March), trading at 18.1525, about 0.8% stronger than its previous close.

This increase comes as concerns grow over President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, which are fueling fears of a prolonged global trade war that could harm economic growth and increase inflation.

Earlier this week, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and raised duties on Chinese goods to 20%, heightening trade tensions.

On Friday (7 March), the rand was trading at R18.29 to the dollar, R23.58 to the pound and R19.75 to the euro. Oil is trading lower at $69.73 a barrel.

Here are five other news stories making waves in South Africa today:

Woolworths shortage: Woolworths said it’s experiencing temporary shortages of fresh produce and red meat in some of its stores, especially Gauteng, due to heavy rains and issues with a supplier. The retailer said in a statement on Thursday that heavy rainfall in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal had affected the supply of some of its fresh produce items, including lettuce, spinach, and cauliflower. [News24]

South Africa strikes gold: South Africa’s current account deficit fell sharply in the fourth quarter as stronger export growth boosted the country’s trade surplus even as global trade tensions clouded the outlook. According to the Reserve Bank, Higher net gold exports are the biggest contributor to a larger trade surplus. [Business Day]

Fule price warning: If the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources uses Nersa’s Petroleum Pipelines System tariffs as a benchmark, fuel prices may increase by 5.23 cents per litre in the 2025/26 financial year and by 3.80 cents per litre in the 2026/27 financial year. [Engineering News]

Voting changes on the cards: The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is exploring electronic voting (e-voting) for future elections in South Africa. An e-voting conference will be held in Cape Town from March 10 to 12, 2025, to discuss the system’s feasibility with stakeholders. [MyBroadband]

US withdraws from the JET partnership with South Africa: In a setback for US-South Africa relations, the United States has withdrawn from the Just Energy Transition partnership. This follows an executive order from President Donald Trump terminating its membership in the international partners group, which was established at the COP26 climate summit in 2021. [EWN]