The South African rand depreciated toward 16.2 per USD, the lowest in nearly a month, as escalating Middle East tensions fueled economic uncertainty and reduced appetite for riskier assets, including emerging market currencies. Moreover, concerns over prolonged disruptions to oil flows in the Middle East heightened inflation fears, prompting investors to scale back expectations for interest rate cuts by major central banks. On the domestic front, South Africa's economy continued to experience favorable developments. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana unveiled a budget last week showing the debt-to-GDP ratio stabilizing for the first time in nearly two decades, alongside a slightly lower fiscal deficit than previously forecast. The improvement, largely supported by a commodity boom boosting mining profits, allowed room for tax relief and higher infrastructure spending.
The USD/ZAR exchange rate rose to 16.1090 on March 2, 2026, up 1.17% from the previous session. Over the past month, the South African Rand has weakened 0.93%, but it's up by 13.27% 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 March 2 of 2026.
The USD/ZAR exchange rate rose to 16.1090 on March 2, 2026, up 1.17% from the previous session. Over the past month, the South African Rand has weakened 0.93%, but it's up by 13.27% over the last 12 months. The South African Rand is expected to trade at 16.12 by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 15.63 in 12 months time.