The rand broke below the R15.00-level to the US dollar ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s maiden Budget Speech later this afternoon, ignoring Russian market jitters and the ruble eyeing record lows.
Bloomberg reports that options pricing suggests there’s a 50% chance the ruble will sink to a record low against the dollar within the next two months – dipping below levels from 2016 when the economy was mired in a recession.
The JSE hasn’t been spared the hit from escalating tensions in the Russia/Ukraine standoff, with the All Share index down almost 1% to 74,953.33 points in early trade. Mining stocks led the losses.
According to Bloomberg, both the ruble and Ukrainian hryvnia rank among the worst-performing currencies this year, with losses exceeding 5% against the dollar.
Forex trading house TreasuryONE says expectations of a reasonably positive Budget address are behind the rand’s run. The rand firmed to R14.97 against the US dollar before backtracking to last trade at R15/$.
