Rand not free from Turkish contagion
SA one of emerging markets most at risk from investor flight
There is no reprieve in sight yet for the rand and other emerging-market currencies battered this week in the fallout over Turkey's economy crisis. Instead, SA is one of several countries considered vulnerable to contagion from Turkey, after investors began to dump riskier emerging-market assets amid negative sentiment over Turkey's economic blunders. These include President Recep Tayyip Erdogan taking control of the central bank. The country also has high foreign currency-denominated debt, and is facing deteriorating trade and political ties with the US. The strain arising from global liquidity as global interest rates rise further this year, primarily in the US, is expected to intensify the pressure on emerging-market currencies. The pummelling these currencies took this week sparked concern that central bank governors in these countries may have to raise interest rates to contain runaway inflation. The Turkish lira led declines to record lows, while the rand has battled to recove...
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