The rand was 1% weaker against the dollar in late afternoon trade on Tuesday but was off its intraday weakest levels, following the release of GDP figures earlier in the day showing that the economy had contracted 0.7%. The contraction was the second consecutive quarterly contraction at an increased rate from 0.3% in the fourth quarter in 2016. The consensus expectation by analysts had been for growth of 1%. This means SA’s economy is now technically in recession. The rand weakened to R12.8943/$ on the news, but recovered later as the dollar weakened further against the euro. The rand received some support from firmer commodity prices, with the gold and platinum prices rising 1% in afternoon trade. At 3.38pm the rand was at R12.8198 to the dollar from a previous R12.6972. It was at R14.4510 to the euro from R14.2882, and at R16.5341 to the pound from R16.3884. The euro was at $1.1274 from $1.1255. Analysts at Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking said the rand continued to perfor...
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