The slide from Ramaphoria to Ramaphobia is complete
The rand is back where it was when Zuma was in charge, and its woes are only partly the result of global factors, as Ramaphosa plays populist politics in the run-up to polls
If there were any doubts that the euphoria following Cyril Ramaphosa becoming president has evaporated, this week’s slump in the rand has removed them. The currency has plunged to a level last seen when Jacob Zuma was still in charge, having retreated from a three-year high against the dollar amid a toxic cocktail of negative economic news, political risks and falling commodity prices. An investor retreat from emerging markets has accelerated its slide of almost 10% against the dollar this month. The rand dropped 2% on Wednesday to R14.5292 to the dollar, before recovering ground to trade at R14.3772 at 8.25am on Thursday. It hit R15.5517 on Monday, the weakest since June 2016. The cost of insuring the country’s debt against default for five years using credit-default swaps climbed 14 basis points to 219, the highest in more than a month. Moody’s Investors Service rates SA’s foreign and local debt at Baa3, the lowest investment level. Adding to the weakness, Naspers, which accounts ...
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