Good news for people with traffic fines in major cities, and South Africans dumping government services
South Africa’s rand weakened last week due to a stronger dollar and rising oil prices, which negatively impacted risk sentiment.
Global markets were also closely monitoring the final day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.
Trump said Xi Jinping agreed that Tehran must open the Strait of Hormuz, but China gave no indication it would weigh in.
High gasoline prices aren’t dissuading these Colorado voters from supporting Trump. They are also straining US school-district budgets.
The rand was trading at 16.6426 against the dollar, which represents a decline of about 1% from its previous close.
The US dollar strengthened against a basket of currencies and was on track for its largest weekly gain in over two months.
Global oil prices rose by more than 1% after Trump announced that China was interested in purchasing oil from the US.
However, an index tracking this trading strategy has jumped more than 3% from its March low, and gained about 1.7% since the conflict began in late February.
The gauge approximates the carry trade by measuring returns from borrowing in three low-yielding currencies and investing in eight higher-yielding emerging market ones, including the Brazilian real and South African rand.
Traders are generally more positive about the South African rand amid expectations of monetary policy tightening.
The market is now anticipating three quarter-point rate increases by the South African central bank this year, as the war in Iran fuels inflation concerns, whereas traders had been pricing in rate cuts before the conflict.
On Monday, 18 May, the rand was trading at R16.74 to the dollar, R22.29 to the pound, and R19.45 to the euro. Gold is trading lower at $4,540.57 an ounce, while oil prices were at $111.2 a barrel.
5 important things happening in South Africa today
Good news for people with traffic fines in two major cities: Two municipalities, the cities of Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, wrote off a combined R3.33-billion in unpaid traffic fines, with Ekurhuleni scrapping the lion’s share, R2.7 billion. [MyBroadband]
South Africans dumping government services: Renowned political economist Frans Cronje said that as state infrastructure fails, entrepreneurs build private solutions to mitigate the impact. This is backed by PwC’s South African Economic Outlook report, which showed that citizens’ use of government services has declined across the board. [Daily Investor]
South African city ranked among the world’s best: Cape Town has been ranked fifth in the world in Time Out’s 2026 Top 20 best cities for art and culture, noted for its layered and evolving cultural scene. [BusinessTech]
Water supply warning: As winter approaches, residents of Joburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, and the surrounding municipalities will experience several weeks of water supply disruptions due to critical maintenance work scheduled from May 29 to July 17. [TimesLive]
Please Call Me idea-man heads back to court: Akosana Makate, the idea-man behind Vodacom’s “Please Call Me,” has started a legal challenge in the Pretoria High Court to annul a contract that grants UK investor Errol Elsdon 40% of his multimillion-rand payout. [Business Day]
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