Volatility looms as rand breaches R17/$

An upsurge in Covid-19 infections and the prospect of economically damaging restrictions in key markets has analysts braced for more rand volatility after it breached R17/$ for the first time in three weeks.

In a sign of how fast the rand’s fortunes can change, it fell as much as 1.8% to R17.1026 on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg data. That was less than a week after it surged to a more than six-month high of R16.08/$. In quiet trade on the Heritage Day public holiday, it was flat at R17.08/$.