The SA Daily
09 March 2018
Rand gains sustainable?
- The rand has strengthened significantly since late last year, against the dollar from around 14.13 in October 2017 to 11.90 currently, and against the euro from 16.46 to 14.67. This was supported by attractive real interest rates and the improved SA political backdrop but also by the very supportive terms of trade and a generally EM-positive setting in which several other EM currencies have also strengthened.
- The rand is now somewhat less cheap than it has been, against both the US dollar and on a tradeweighted basis (and only marginally weaker than its historical average). Further strengthening could reduce SA’s competitiveness on the global stage, which could be unfavourable for export growth.
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