Rand breaches R17/$ for first time since the lockdown

SA’s financial markets rode a wave of optimism about a global economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic on Wednesday, pushing the rand to its strongest level since before the country imposed its national lockdown, while banks surged to their biggest one-day gain in more than two decades.

The rand extended its recovery on Wednesday and broke through R17/$, while the JSE reached its strongest level since early March. Bond yields were at their lowest level in more than three months, signalling that SA’s debt is regaining favour despite a downgrade to junk and the prospects of a jump in government borrowing due to the deepest economic slump in a century.