{"id":806416,"date":"2025-01-11T09:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-11T07:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=806416"},"modified":"2025-01-11T09:45:21","modified_gmt":"2025-01-11T07:45:21","slug":"rand-slumps-to-nine-month-low","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/finance\/806416\/rand-slumps-to-nine-month-low\/","title":{"rendered":"Rand slumps to nine-month low"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>South Africa\u2019s rand plunged to the weakest level in nine months against the dollar after US jobs data came in far stronger than expected, more evidence that interest rates there could stay higher for longer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The currency breached 19 to the US unit for the first time since June, raising concerns it could soon hit a record low if the downward pressure continues. The rand traded at 19.12 per dollar at 4:39 p.m. in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Its 0.9% decline made it the worst-performing major currency against the dollar Friday after Brazil\u2019s real and South Korea\u2019s won.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The US economy in December added the most jobs since March and the jobless rate unexpectedly fell, supporting the case for a pause in Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts and sending the dollar soaring.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Labor Department data add to pressures including fears of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-01-08\/trump-tariff-talk-rattles-rand-zar-usd-what-to-know-about-the-currency-slide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">potential tariff increases<\/a>&nbsp;under US President-elect Donald Trump. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA really sharp turn in sentiment would be needed in order for the rand to break above 20,\u201d said Brendan Mckenna, an emerging-markets economist and currency strategist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC. \u201cBut I think the probability of a more-material risk-off scenario is indeed rising.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image-40.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"814\" height=\"457\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image-40.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-806417\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image-40.png 814w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image-40-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image-40-768x431.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 814px) 100vw, 814px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The rand is headed for its fourth straight week of declines against the dollar, poised to drop 2.1% this week alone. That puts the currency at the bottom of the emerging-market pack, and marks the longest losing streak since May 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, forward-rate agreements, which reflect expectations for borrowing costs, now suggest a 56% chance of the South African Reserve Bank cutting its benchmark policy rate by 25 basis points at its Jan. 30 meeting, less than the 72% probability seen earlier in the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>By Mpho Hlakudi and Colleen Goko (Bloomberg)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/805935\/warning-to-employers-hiring-undocumented-migrants-in-south-africa\/\">Warning to employers hiring undocumented migrants in South Africa<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The rand plunged to the weakest level in nine months against the dollar after US jobs data came in far stronger than expected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":796853,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11121],"tags":[1850,3670,853],"class_list":["post-806416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance","tag-bloomberg","tag-rand","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806416"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":806418,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806416\/revisions\/806418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}