Rand to weaken in volatile trade this year – poll
South Africa’s rand will lose over 3% of its value in volatile trade against the dollar this year, a Reuters poll of market strategists found on Wednesday, but should be cushioned by wavering expectations for US interest rates.
The health of the world’s two biggest economies – the United States and China – has been thrown into question in recent months as the two battle each other over trade, injecting new uncertainty over how high US interest rates will go.
This has rattled emerging market currencies like the rand, while equity markets around the world have mostly tumbled since October on fears of a global economic slowdown.
Last month’s Reuters survey of 40 strategists suggested the rand would slide to 14.27 per dollar in just a year’s time.
In a poll of the strategists taken in the past week, the rand is expected to weaken over 3% to 14.43 against the dollar towards the end of this year, from just under 14 per greenback now.
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