# South African rand weakens to multi-year low after Powell testimony | CNBC Africa

> The South African rand fell to its lowest level since May 2020, trading at 18.60 per dollar, after hawkish comments from Fed Chair Powell and a larger-than-expected Q4 GDP contraction. Powell signalled US rates could rise faster and higher than expected, pushing the dollar to multi-month highs.

- Date: 2023-03-08 · published 2023-03-08T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: macro · region South Africa · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/37167-south-african-rand-weakens-to-multi-year-low-after-powell-testimony-cnbc-africa
- 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 weaker rand raises the local cost of imported feed ingredients, and a dollar rally tends to pressure dollar-denominated grain and meal prices.

## Read by commodity

- DXY: bullish ▲
- USDZAR: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXY | 2025-10-30 | [South African Rand Weakens to Over 1-Week Low](https://feedsoft.ai/events/22701-south-african-rand-weakens-to-over-1-week-low.md) | +1.1% | +0.4% |
| DXY | 2026-10-01 | [Rand weakens to three month low as stronger dollar and oil price weigh on South Africa](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17339-rand-weakens-to-three-month-low-as-stronger-dollar-and-oil-price-weigh-on-south.md) | +0.2% | +0.6% |
| DXY | 2023-04-21 | [South African rand weaker as Fed rate bets support dollar \| CNBC Africa](https://feedsoft.ai/events/36686-south-african-rand-weaker-as-fed-rate-bets-support-dollar-cnbc-africa.md) | +0.3% | +0.8% |
| DXY | 2022-08-19 | [South African rand dips as dollar hits three-week high after Fed minutes \| CNBC Africa](https://feedsoft.ai/events/40328-south-african-rand-dips-as-dollar-hits-three-week-high-after-fed-minutes-cnbc.md) | +0.6% | +2.1% |
| DXY | 2025-09-26 | [South African rand edges down after better-than-expected U.S. data \| CNBC Africa](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23176-south-african-rand-edges-down-after-better-than-expected-u-s-data-cnbc-africa.md) | -0.1% | +0.3% |

## Sources

- cnbcafrica.com: https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2023/south-african-rand-weakens-to-multi-year-low-after-powell-testimony

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