JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand fell on Monday after comments by newly-elected U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend, worrying traders in the BRICS bloc of emerging economies and raising questions about what his second term could mean for the country. trade relations.
At 1506 GMT, the rand was trading at 18.22 against the US dollar, around 1% softer than the previous close.
Trump on Saturday demanded that BRICS member states commit not to create a new currency or support another currency that would replace the dollar or face 100% tariffs.
South Africa is a member of the BRICS bloc, along with Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Some market players said Trump’s comments may not have a lasting effect on the currency, but still raised concerns.
“The bearish momentum is unlikely to continue as there is no BRICS currency and in any case would pose little risk to the USD’s status as a global reserve currency,” said Danny Greeff, co-head of Africa at ETM Analytics. .
“Nonetheless, Trump’s tariff threats provide a glimpse of what lies ahead over the next four years as he will look to improve existing trade deals to the US’s advantage,” Greeff added.
Also on Monday, a survey of the local purchasing managers index showed that South African manufacturing activity fell in November as volatile demand weighed on business activity, while data from the country’s motoring association showed that new car sales fell by more than 8% up.
Local investors will look to South Africa’s third-quarter gross domestic product figures on Tuesday for further clues about the health of Africa’s most industrialized economy.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 index closed about 1.6% higher.
The South African government bond for 2030 fell, with the yield rising 2.5 basis points to 8.94%.
