The South African rand dropped today as concerns about the worker strikes overshadowed the positive trading data from China. The news from China boosted commodity currencies, but the local problems did not allow ZAR to profit from that.
China’s exports rose in December more than was expected, resulting in the trade surplus of $31.6 billion, which was above the forecast of $20.1 billion. The Standard & Poorâs GSCI Index of 24 commodities climbed 0.9 percent. Yet the rand remained soft as 63 protesters were arrested in the Western Cape province after strikes resumed today.
USD/ZAR rose from 8.5941 to 8.6346 as of 15:43 GMT today.
If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the South African Rand,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.
