The South African rand traded around 16.5 per USD, its weakest level since late July, as stalled US-Iran negotiations kept oil prices elevated, weighing on risk-sensitive currencies in oil-importing economies. At the same time, heightened geopolitical uncertainty boosted safe-haven demand for the greenback, while subdued prices of key precious metals limited support the rand. Locally, the South African Reserve Bank raised its key repo rate to 7.25% on September 23, following similar decisions by the Fed and the ECB. Governor Kganyago cited renewed upside risks to the inflation outlook and stressed the need to bring inflation back to the SARB’s 3% target, reaffirming the central bank’s commitment to price stability. The Reserve Bank noted the global fuel-price shock had intensified recently and raised its near-term inflation forecasts accordingly. Headline inflation ticked up to 4.4% in August from 4.3% in July, but is expected to accelerate in the next few months.
The USD/ZAR exchange rate fell to 16.6425 on October 2, 2026, down 0.24% from the previous session. Over the past month, the South African Rand has weakened 4.10%, but it's up by 3.35% over the last 12 months. Historically, the USDZAR reached an all time high of 19.93 in April of 2025. South African Rand - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on October 4 of 2026.
The USD/ZAR exchange rate fell to 16.6425 on October 2, 2026, down 0.24% from the previous session. Over the past month, the South African Rand has weakened 4.10%, but it's up by 3.35% over the last 12 months. The South African Rand is expected to trade at 15.99 by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 15.68 in 12 months time.