Another dismal day for the Rand yesterday which closed at a record 18.2188 last night after selling off in New York. Investment banks and hedge funds are shying away from EM assets as the fear that these countries have not yet felt the full impact of the Coronavirus. The South African health minister warned that infection and mortality numbers are expected to rise dramatically from this week.
The Rand is the worst-performing EM currency and we can expect further weakness in the short term. The Rand is trading at 18.2300 this morning, having lost 30.4% of its value this year.
The Dollar has firmed against the Euro and Pound as equity markets were once again sold off and funds flowed to the greenback. The Euro and Pound are currently quoted at 1.0945 and 1.2400 respectively as markets await today’s jobless claims data and tomorrow’s Non-farm payrolls number.
Wall Street’s three major indices all lost 4.40% yesterday while Asian stocks are mixed this morning. US futures are however trading in the green this morning.
Gold is reasonably steady at $1 588.75 and Brent crude oil is a touch higher at $26.40.