SA rand crumbles to 4-year low as panic selling in Asia deepens rout

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s rand tumbled to a four-year low on Monday, joining a global sell-off in riskier assets as the coronavirus outbreak continued to spread globally and oil prices collapsed.
The rand was already on the back foot after ratings firm Moody’s, the last of the top three agencies to rank the country at investment level, cut it 2020 growth forecast on Friday to 0.4% from 0.7%, citing the impact of the coronavirus alongside long-standing fiscal frailties.
South Africa confirmed its first case of the virus on Thursday, and by the weekend officials had confirmed another two cases, but offshore risks to the rand looked set to drag the currency even lower.

Source: iol.co.za