Rand on track for longest weekly losing streak in 14 years

The rand reached a historic low on Friday morning and was on track for its seventh week of losses, as the escalating  Covid-19 pandemic sees investors flee riskier assets.

The local currency was down 6.5% for the week making this its longest losing streak since 2006. The rand also reached a new low of R18.77/$ during intra-day trade, according to Bloomberg data, as fears that the spread of Covid-19 will intensify weighed on emerging-market currencies. The number of confirmed cases surpassed one-million on Thursday.