Rand's record plunge

DEPRECIATION: 7% FALL IS CURRENCY'S WEAKEST LEVEL SINCE JUNE 2023

- Liesl Peyper and Suren Naidoo

South Africa's rand is on the brink of a record low against the US dollar after hitting R19.75 just before midnight, a plunge of over 7% over the past week and its weakest level since June 2023.

The rand, which has already hit a record low against the British pound, fell a further 0.56% on Tuesday against the greenback as uncertainty around the future of the government of national unity (GNU) and (US president Donald) Trump tariffs continued to weigh on the local currency.

The fallout between the ANC and the DA (the two biggest parties in the fragile GNU) over SA's budget incorporating a VAT (value-added tax) hike has been largely blamed for the rand's woes, with market watchers worried about a DA exit.

SA's currency last traded within a whisker of R20 to the US dollar on 1 June 2023, when it hit around R19.90.