Rand weakens even further, at R19/$ amidst the pandemic

South Africa Rand has been crumbling since the globe was affected by coronavirus pandemic. However, the South African rand suffered from the beginning of the global financial crisis in 2008. Having seen the impact and the historical journey, it is expected to get even worse in March.

According to Bloomberg, the rand suffered a loss of up to 11% in January and February of 2020. Rand is expected to weaken even further amid the COVID-19, coronavirus pandemic.  South Africa has been downgraded to junk by Moody’s Investors service. Bloomberg reports the worst for the South African rand, as it hits its lowest level against the American dollar ($).

Bianca Botes, who is the executive director of Peregrine Treasury Solutions, noted that, as at this point, the local unit lost over 3% as the rand breaks the R19.00 barrier.

The SA currency stands at R19.05 against the dollar ($), a rand continues to flounder against Pound and Euro.

As of 04 April 2020:

• Dollar/Rand: R19.05
• Pound/Rand: R23.37
• Euro/Rand: R20.58

A rand can possibly hit R21 this year, and probability stands at 52%.  Bloomberg survey predicts the rand at R16 per dollar by the end of the year, however, Bloomberg’s probability calculator suggests a 30% chance of that happening.

Lars Merklin, Danske Bank A/S’ senior strategist, backs the possibility of the rand at R21, however, his own predict sees the currency weakening toR19.00 per dollar.

Sources: BusinessTech, Bloomberg