The rand has weakened to an all-time low in early trade on the JSE to R19.46 to the dollar, extending Thursday’s two-and-a-half percent fall by one-and-a-half percent so far on Friday.
This is also reflected in a sell-off in bonds, which points to an outflow of money, further weakening the rand.
This, after the US ambassador said he was confident that a Russian ship had picked up weapons in Simonstown in December.
This is putting strain on sentiment which is already low due to the worst rolling blackouts by Eskom that is showing no sign of abating.
On top of that, JP Morgan has issued a research note saying that it now forecasts a 0.2% contraction in GDP for the year, compared with a previous forecast for GDP growth of 0.3%.
A perfect storm for more rand weakness.
The video below is reporting on the weaker rand:
