On Tuesday, the South African rand exhibited a decline in value, primarily influenced by the sudden upswing in U.S. Treasury yields. Analysts have attributed this shift to investors’ growing inclination towards safer assets while shying away from riskier options.
As of 1153 GMT, the South African rand was trading at 19.0175 against the U.S. dollar, marking a depreciation of over 1.3% compared to its previous closing rate.
The U.S. dollar showed minimal fluctuations against a diverse array of global currencies. Meanwhile, South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond displayed weakness, with the yield registering an increase of 11.5 basis points, reaching 10.770%.
Central bank data released on Tuesday indicated that South Africa’s composite leading business cycle indicator, encompassing metrics such as vehicle sales, business confidence, money supply, and other variables, experienced a marginal 0.1% month-on-month increase in July.