Rand under pressure from strong dollar

The rand remained under pressure on Tuesday, heading back towards its weakest this year as a strong dollar weighed.

At 0600 GMT, the rand traded at 13.88 versus the dollar, 0.4% weaker than its close on Monday.

Investors have ramped up bets that escalating trade tensions between the US and its allies will hurt the world’s biggest economy the least for now. That has boosted the dollar and tightened financial conditions globally.

The rand has also been hurt by weak local data, which has cast doubt on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ability to kick-start growth after a decade of stagnation.

The South African currency struck its lowest this year of 14 to the dollar on Thursday. It bounced back on Friday but has since resumed its slide.

Government bonds were little changed in early deals, with the yield on the benchmark instrument due in 2026 at 8.900%.

Foreign investors sold R34.7 billion of South African bonds between January and June, the highest sell-off on record, data from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange show.