The South African rand was trading around 14 against the greenback in early August, its highest level since mid-June, boosted by commodity prices and a softer dollar after fresh reassurance by the US Federal Reserve that interest rate hikes are seen distant. At the same time, optimism around President Biden's massive infrastructure plan helped risk appetite. Locally, South Africa's economic outlook has been clouded by the duration and severity of the third wave of Covid-19 and associated tougher restrictions, as well as the recent unrest in parts of the country. South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago has said recently that the effects of lockdowns and deadly riots would be felt for some time and will likely slow the recovery from 2020’s pandemic-induced contraction.
Historically, the South African Rand reached an all time high of 19.35 in April of 2020. South African Rand - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on August of 2021.
The South African Rand is expected to trade at 14.74 by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 15.29 in 12 months time.