Rand back over R14/$ and R18/£
After Wednesday’s disastrous retail figures, the focus turns to mining’s contribution to GDP
SA’s electricity crisis and far worse than expected December retail data saw the rand weaken from R13.73/$ on Wednesday to R14.07/$ in the early hours of Thursday. The rand weakened from R17.67/£ to R18.09/£, but managed to hold below R16/€, weakening from R15.38/€ to R15.85/€. More bad news arrived on Thursday morning with Eskom announcing a fifth day of rolling blackouts, although its level has improved from Monday’s stage 4 to stage 2.
The rand was trading at R14.05/$, R15.84/€, and R18.07/£ at 6.45am. Just how badly SA’s GDP fared in 2018 will be revealed on Thursday with Stats SA’s scheduled release of December’s wholesale trade figures at 10am, mining production and sales at 11.30am, and motor trade sales at 1pm. The economists’ consensus is the annual decline in SA’s mining production will slow to about 0.6% in December from November’s 5.6%. On Wednesday, Stats SA reported December’s retail sales fell 1.4% instead of rising the expected 2.7%...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.