South African rand reaches its lowest level in 7 weeks, as trade tensions heat up

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African trade hit a seven-week low against the dollar on Monday, as prospects for a sharp escalation of the US-China trade war dissuaded investors from taking risks.

At 14:05, the rand was down 0.71% to 14.8950 dollars per dollar, recording its lowest levels since June 13.

"After lowering the support level of R $ 14.80 / $, it seems that there is no end in sight for the misfortunes of the ZAR, which continues to weaken easily. "said Bianca Botes, a treasury partner at Peregrine Treasury Solutions.

"The trade war remains the central point for the moment."

Beijing on Friday announced that it would be avenging the decision of US President Donald Trump to remove 10% of the remaining $ 300 billion of Chinese imports, a decision that ended a truce. commercial one month.

In fixed-income securities, the benchmark 2026 reference bond yield added 7.5 basis points to 8.445% early in the session.