US air strike wobbles rand amid global risk-off trading
The rand was on track for its first weekly drop in five weeks on Friday as rising tension in the Middle East placed more pressure on riskier assets.
The rand weakened almost 1.5% to levels last seen on December 19 amid global risk-off as markets reacted to a US air strike that killed a top Iranian commander on Friday.
The US confirmed that Iranian Maj-Gen Qassem Soleimani was killed during the attack in Baghdad earlier in the day.
Warnings from Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of “severe revenge” added to investor concern about the effect the escalating tension could have on geopolitics.
At 10.53am, the rand had weakened 1.45% to R14.29/$, the biggest loss among emerging-market currencies tracked by Bloomberg. It had also dropped 1.26% to R15.9373/€ and 1.17% to R18.7281/ £. The euro had weakened 0.18% to $1.1153.
Gold was up 1.02% to $1,544.24/oz and platinum 0.57% to $987.53. Brent crude was up 3.29% to $68.4 a barrel. News of the air strike pushed up the price of Brent crude to levels last seen in September during intraday trade on Friday.
Source: businesslive.co.za
