# South Africa Rand (USD/ZAR) Surges on Fed Rates, Economy Optimism - Bloomberg

> The South African rand climbed to a 13-month high on Friday, trading as much as 0.8% stronger at 17.5965 per dollar. The currency is up 4.3% this year, among the best performers in emerging markets.

- Date: 2024-08-30 · published 2024-08-30T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: macro · region South Africa · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/29085-south-africa-rand-usd-zar-surges-on-fed-rates-economy-optimism-bloomberg
- Commodities: [South African Rand (ZAR per USD)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/USDZAR.md), [US Dollar (Broad)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/DXY.md)

## Why it matters

A stronger rand lowers the local-currency cost of dollar-priced grain and oilseed imports into South Africa, supporting feed affordability, while the move reflects easing global rate expectations.

## Read by commodity

- DXY: bearish ▼
- USDZAR: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXY | 2025-10-29 | [South African rand gains on expectations of Fed rate cut \| CNBC Africa](https://feedsoft.ai/events/22700-south-african-rand-gains-on-expectations-of-fed-rate-cut-cnbc-africa.md) | +1.0% | +0.5% |
| DXY | 2024-10-11 | [South African rand rises after U.S. data fuels Fed rate cut bets \| CNBC Africa](https://feedsoft.ai/events/28156-south-african-rand-rises-after-u-s-data-fuels-fed-rate-cut-bets-cnbc-africa.md) | +0.7% | +2.0% |
| DXY | 2024-07-31 | [Yen surges, USD heads south on divergent Fed, BOJ policies](https://feedsoft.ai/events/29457-yen-surges-usd-heads-south-on-divergent-fed-boj-policies.md) | -0.5% | -1.9% |
| DXY | 2024-08-23 | [South African rand jumps as Fed's Powell signals lower rates](https://feedsoft.ai/events/29087-south-african-rand-jumps-as-fed-s-powell-signals-lower-rates.md) | -0.1% | -0.8% |
| DXY | 2019-03-20 | [South Africa’s rand gains ahead of Fed decision - Moneyweb](https://feedsoft.ai/events/60378-south-africa-s-rand-gains-ahead-of-fed-decision-moneyweb.md) | +0.4% | +0.4% |

## Sources

- bloomberg.com: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-30/zarusd-south-africa-rand-surges-to-13-month-high-on-fed-rates-economy-optimism

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.