Besides a weaker rand, the JSE closed lower both on Friday and Monday and is down more than 2% over the past week. Image: Shutterstock

Rand hits R18 to US dollar

Trump win buoys dollar against emerging market currencies.

by · Moneyweb

South Africa’s rand hit R18 to the US dollar on Tuesday morning, its weakest level in almost three months. It weakened to R18.10 at one point, but around 11.15am traded 0.8% lower, at R18.07.

The rand is down more than 3% over the last week, most of the losses following Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 US presidential race.

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On Monday alone, the local currency weakened around 2%.

Rand/dollar 

Trump’s big win against the Democratic Party’s Kamala Harris has seen a resurgent dollar against emerging market currencies and stronger US markets.

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Besides a weaker rand, the JSE closed lower both on Friday and Monday and is down more than 2% over the past week. Last Tuesday, the JSE’s All Share Index (Alsi) closed at 86 642 points and had fallen to 84 772 by yesterday’s close (Monday).

Alsi 

On Tuesday, the Alsi weakened further by around 0.75% in early morning trade, and could test the 84 000-points mark.

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US markets are “mostly higher … driven by optimism for pro-business policies following Trump’s win, along with expectations of tax cuts and deregulation,” Anchor Capital says in a note.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency Bitcoin surged towards a record, almost hitting the $90 000 mark on Tuesday morning.

Read: Bitcoin nears $90 000 as crypto market exceeds pandemic-era peak

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