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Rand recovers after selloff, stocks fall
A series of dismal manufacturing activity numbers and rising tensions between the United States and China dented risk sentiment on Monday, hitting emerging markets.
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Rand holds firmer on improved risk appetite
Global risk sentiment has been lifted with a number of major economies readying to reopen their economies and encouraging early results from a COVID-19 treatment trial.
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Rand firms as risk appetite grows
Sentiment improved as several states in the United States allowed businesses to reopen after a near-total halt in activity to contain the outbreak, while many other countries, such as Italy and Spain, plan to reopen their economies in the coming weeks.
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Rand weaker on rescue package funding worries
South Africa’s economy was in bad shape before the coronavirus crisis started. With this year’s budget deficit is forecast to reach an 18-year high and loss-making state firms like South African Airways and power utility Eskom are a drain on the public purse.
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Rand weakens as virus dents risk appetite
South Africa has spent nearly a month under restrictions requiring most of the population to stay at home apart from essential trips, leaving many businesses and individuals struggling.
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Rand gains before president's speech on reopening economy
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government would adopt a phased approach to easing lockdown measures, which currently requires people to remain in their homes and allow only essential services to operate.
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Rand firms as South Africa announces COVID-19 rescue package
Among the measures to fund the rescue package, Ramaphosa said South Africa had approached global financial institutions like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, the BRICS New Development Bank and the African Development Bank, primarily to fund healthcare interventions.
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Rand steady, oil crash in focus
The rand steadied against the dollar early on Tuesday, but traders expected the currency to remain under pressure as a plunge in US crude oil futures to below zero sapped risk appetite.
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Rand opens weaker as growth fears hurt riskier assets
The rand fell more than 4% versus the dollar last week, hurt by a surprise central bank interest rate cut and predictions that the domestic economy would suffer a severe contraction because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Rand stronger at end of torrid week
But the currency was on course for losses of roughly 4% versus the US dollar this week, hurt by a surprise rate cut and predictions that the global coronavirus pandemic will cause a deep economic contraction.
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Rand falls as deep recession fears weigh
The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday sub-Saharan Africa’s gross domestic product was on track to shrink this year by 1.6% - its worst performance on record - because of the combined effects of the coronavirus and plummeting oil and commodities prices.
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Rand falls as economy faces deep recession
The central bank projects that the economy will contract 6.1% in 2020, while the International Monetary Fund forecasts a 5.8% dip.
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Rand firms as Chinese trade data lifts riskier currencies
Analysts, however, expect the rand to remain volatile, with a grim outlook for South Africa’s economy after the country imposed some of the toughest restrictions on the continent to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
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Rand recovers after plunging to all-time low
South Africa has imposed some of the toughest restrictions on the continent to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak, including deploying the army to support police during a 21-day lockdown that began on Friday.
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Rand crashes to all-time low after Moody's pulls the plug
Moody’s downgrade will see South Africa kicked out of the benchmark World Government Bond Index (WGBI) of local-currency debt at the end of April, triggering up to $12 billion of forced selling, treasury and analysts estimate.
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Rand on the ropes as virus fears mount
With South Africa reporting a sharp jump in confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday to 402, from less than 50 just over a week ago, sentiment towards the rand and other local assets is set to remain on the ropes.
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Rand, stocks sink as coronavirus pummels markets again
Markets globally were stumbling again as cases of coronavirus continued to rise and countries took increasingly draconian measures to stem the increase.
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Rand, stocks claw back some lost ground
Stocks also clawed back some of the value lost on Monday – the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE) deepest daily drop on record.
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JSE sees another major drop, rand under pressure over COVID-19 fears
The local bourse followed international markets with some equities under major pressure.
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Rand weakens as coronavirus worries weigh
Since Monday’s sharp fall to just shy of R17.00, the rand has managed to claw back some ground, but ongoing uncertainty about the effectiveness of measures taken by central banks globally to limit the coronavirus has kept volatility elevated.
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Rand rebounds as global selloff slows
The rand firmed on Tuesday, recovering most of its losses as emerging markets broadly recovered from heavy selling in the previous session triggered by a dive in oil prices and fears about the economic impact of the coronavirus.
