The rand has experienced one of its worst years against the US dollar – dipping to new 4 year lows against the greenback.<\/p>\n
The currency faced a tough 2013, opening on the lows brought about by a stalled mining industry in late 2012, and remained sensitive to the struggling European economy in the first half of the year.<\/p>\n
In late May, however, the rand dipped to a new 4-year low, breaking through the R10 to the dollar mark after threatening to do so after the reporting of disappointing quarterly growth figures.<\/p>\n
Since the big decline in May, the rand continued to zig-zag between R9.50 and R10.50, having hit its lowest US close at R10.50 on 5 December 2013, according to xe.com – the day of Nelson Mandela’s passing, though analysts noted that it was US data that impacted the drop, not Madiba’s death.<\/p>\n
In general, economists and labour organizations have been divided on what the depreciation of the rand means for South Africa – with some seeing opportunity to stimulate growth, and others seeing wide-spread failure and tough economic times.<\/p>\n
Late November, Reuters reported that, in the long-terms, “the rand will remain vulnerable to gaping deficits in the national budget and current account, which has earned it a position in the so-called ‘fragile five’ group of emerging markets along with Turkey, India, Brazil and Indonesia.”<\/p>\n
In the tech space, and the positive side, the soft rand helped boost media and Internet company, Naspers to a new record high on the JSE – shooting past R1,000 for the first time, making it one of the most valuable companies in South Africa.<\/p>\n
However, retailers and consumers are less enthusiastic about the rand’s positioning, as the prices of tech goods have risen as a result of the rand’s poor performance.<\/p>\n
According to xe.com’s data, despite the Rand hitting new four-year lows in 2013, the currency is still a way off from its lowest point – R11.78, which was the currency’s trade close on 23 October, 2008.<\/p>\n
| 1 January 2013<\/td>\n | R8.46<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n| 18 December 2013<\/td>\n | R10.36<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | % Change<\/td>\n | 22.46%<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Highest close – 5 December 2013<\/td>\n | R10.50 <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Lowest close – 1 January 2013<\/td>\n | R8.46<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n | * Prices taken from xe.com (accessed 18 December 2012) and represent the rand value at close of markets (PST). |
![\"Rand](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Rand-vs-Dollar-1-year.png\")
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