SA rand falls

Mixed denomination rand currency banknotes are arranged for a photograph at a First National Bank (FNB) branch in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday, March 15, 2013. A recovery in mining and manufacturing is giving South Africa's rand and bonds a breather amid concern that growth is slowing while inflation accelerates. Photographer: Nadine Hutton/Bloomberg via Getty Images

ZAR has smashed its record low value against the greenback. In March, it breached the R18-mark, then went past R18,50, and over the weekend, it’s tumbled through the R19 barrier.

The misery has been non-stop for South Africa’s markets, which might be a tad unfair considering Mzansi’s responsible actions in implementing a lockdown. But, as if a worldwide fiscal meltdown wasn’t enough, South Africa has also been relegated to junk status by credit ratings agency Moody’s at the start of this month. Fitch also downgraded the country’s credit rating, as the great rand sell-off continues unabated . . . and it’s been catastrophic for our currency.

Yesterday the rand stood at R19,18/$. At the start of the year, our exchange rate was at R14 — and even then, we were complaining about ZAR’s poor performance.

The blight of load shedding, small growth forecasts and a stagnant economy had already knocked South Africa off balance. – TheSouthAfrican.