# The Rand Is Paying the Price For South Africa’s Economic, Political Woes

> The rand plunged to a record 19.8468 per dollar after the South African Reserve Bank raised its policy rate to a two-decade high. It posted six straight weeks of losses amid electricity shortages and a diplomatic row with the US over South Africa's ties with Russia. Options pricing implied an 80% chance the currency would reach 20 per dollar within a month.

- Date: 2023-06-01 · published 2023-06-01T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: macro · region South Africa · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/36248-the-rand-is-paying-the-price-for-south-africa-s-economic-political-woes
- Commodities: [South African Rand (ZAR per USD)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/USDZAR.md)

## Why it matters

Continued rand weakness raises South African import costs for dollar-priced feed ingredients and may squeeze local feed demand. The story describes currency pressure with limited direct effect on global feed prices.

## Read by commodity

- USDZAR: bullish ▲

## Sources

- bloomberg.com: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-26/rand-carries-can-for-south-africa-s-economic-political-foibles

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