Cape Town – The South African rand weakened significantly against major currencies, hitting a record low of R24.73 per British pound on 3 April.
By Friday, it had fallen further to R24.78.
This decline followed the South African National Assembly’s approval of a contentious Budget, which passed without support from the DA and FF Plus — members of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Daily Investor reported.
The Budget includes a proposed VAT hike by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, prompting uncertainty over the DA’s continued participation in the GNU, unsettling investors.
Compounding the rand’s troubles, US President Donald Trump imposed global tariffs, including a 30% levy on South African exports to the US.
According to BusinessDay, the rand tumbled past the key R19/$ mark on Friday as global markets reacted to the sweeping tariffs introduced by the Trump administration in the US.
Trump justified the tariffs as part of his “America First” policy, citing trade imbalances and alleged exploitation of US trade agreements.
Investor jitters also hit the JSE hard, with the all-share index sliding another 2.6% in early trade, erasing billions of rand in market value, the report said.
The sell-off in South African stocks extended Thursday’s sharp decline, bringing total losses over the two-day period to more than R1.3 trillion.
